LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

Theological   Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    N.  J. 
Case,  ,y.''..:... 

sne,f,   S-i..    '^'^^'^   ■:-' 

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Bookf ; 


A      DONATION 


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KEY 


REVELATION 


THIRTY-SIX    LECTURES, 


TAKING     THE     WHOLE      BOOK     IN     COURSE 


BY  ETHAN  SMITH, 


AUTHOR    OF        A   DISSERTATION    ON   THE    PROPHECIES,    _lLSiE35L. 

OF    THE    TRINITY,"    "  VIEW    OF    THE    HEBREWS,"    "  KEY 

TO    FIGURATIVE    LANGUAGE,"   &C. 


"  Uuderstandest  thou  what  thou  readest  1" — Philip. 

"  Let  him  that  readeth  understand." 

"  Blessed  is  lie  that  lieepelli  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book  ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand."— Jesus  Christ. 


NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED  AND  PUBLISHED  BY  J.  &  J.  HARPER, 

NO.    82    CLIFF-STREET, 

AND    SOLD    BY    THE    PRINCIPAL    BOOKSELLERS    THROUGHOUT    THS 

UNITED    STATES. 

183  3. 


^ 


{Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1 833,  by  J.  «5- 
J.  Harper,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  SoiUhern  District  of 
New- York.] 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The  outlines  of  this  work  were,  many  years  ago,  submitted  to  the 
inspection,  and  received  the  approbation,  ol"  a  number  of  the  first  lite- 
rary divines.  Since  the  Lectures  were  written,  the  work  has  been 
laid  before  such  ministers,  and  associations  of  ministers,  as  the 
writer  could  find  it  convenient  to  consult.  A  journey  was  made 
to  Andover,  the  last  vacation  there,  in  hopes  of  consulting  the 
professors  of  that  institution.  All  were  absent  but  two  ;  and  one 
of\ thesis.  (I^rore^sor  Stuart)  was  sick, -aij^l -could  not  hear  reading 
Nw  ^-  upp'i^he^ulVj^^tViJn  aiWntenJew.  w-kli'liini,  I  was  happy  to  find 
^  ^^^jlar'gb^g Act ayagp^roen ^N^Rlr-mm  m  xkyfi^m^s  of  the  Revelation  ; 
^^'VnXthat  he  had  dist^vered  the  same  general  division  in  the  pro- 
^phenOvpart  of  this  'ook,  which  I  have  viewed  essential  in  my 
B^posiffon  of  it.     He  said  this  general  division  is  palpably  clear. 

From  the  Rev.  Professor  Emerson,  of  the  Theological  Seminary,  Andover. 
"  From  a  few  specimens  which  1  iiave  been  able  to  hear  of  Mr.  Smith's  Key,  «fec., 
I  am  of  the  opinion  it  contains  original  views  of  some  portions  of  the  Revelation, 
■which  are  of  such  interest  as  to  command  attention,  and  to  warrant  its  publica- 
tion. And  1  trust  it  will,  as  a  whole,  contribute  to  hasten  that  glorious  reforma- 
tion of  which  it  treats." 

(Signed)  RALPH  EMERSON. 

Andover,  May  21,  1833. 

From  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Emerson  and  Cleaveland,  Salem. 
*•  Having  attended  to  the  plan  and  some  of  the  Lectures  in  Mr.  Smith's  Key 
dec,  we  are  free  to  say  that  the  work  i.s,  in  our  judgment,  the  result  of  laborious 
research,  evincing  much  ingenuity  in  arguments  and  illustrations;  and  that  in 
view  of  the  important  nature  of  the  subjects  on  which  it  treats,  it  is  entitled  to 
the  consideration  of  all  who  desire  to  understand  "  The  revelation  of  Jestis  Christ, 
which  God  gave  unto  him  to  show  unto  his  servants  things  which  must  shortly 
ome  to  pass." 

(Signed)  BROWN  EMERSON, 

JOHN  P.  CLEAVELAND. 
Salem,  May  20,  1833. 

From  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hopkins,  Boston. 
"  I  have  perused  two  of  Mr.  Smith's  Lectures  in  his  Key,  «fcc.,  with  interest 
and  profit.  1  believe  Mr.  Smith  has  cast  new  light  upon  at  least  some  parts  of 
this  interesting  but  obscure  book.  The  labour  he  has  bestowed  upon  these 
Lectures,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  symbolic  language  of  the  prophetic 
Scriptures,  are  a  sufficient  j)ledge  to  the  public,  that  his  forthcoming  book  will  be 
peculiarly  valuable." 

(Signed)  A.  T.  HOPKINS. 

Bostoji,  April  9th,  1833. 

Frnm  the  Rev.  Reuben  Emer.ion,  South  Reading. 
*'  Having  attended  to  the  work  above  noted,  and  heard  a  number  of  the  Lec- 
tures, 1  do  cordially  unite  in  the  recommendations  given." 

(Signed)  REUBEN  EMERSON 

SmUh  Reading,  May  21, 1833. 


RECOMMENDATIONS.  Hi 

From  the  Association  of  Salem  and  its  vicinity. 
"The  Rev.  E.  Smith,  having  read  in  our  hearing  an  outline  of  his  Key  to  the 
Revelation,  and  some  Lectures  and  parts  of  Lectures  of  the  same  (a  work 
which  he  thinis  to  give  to  the  public),  we  are  free  to  say  that,  in  our  opinions,  the 
importance  of  the  subject,  and  the  ingenuity  with  which  his  exposition  is  given, 
entitle  the  work  to  the  serious  consideration  of  the  Christian  community." 
By  order  of  the  Association, 

(Signed)  MOSES  SAWYER,  Mod'r.  fro.  tern, 

DAVID  OLTPHANT,  Scribe. 
Danvers,  June  12,  1833, 

From  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Nelson  of  Leicester,  Miller  and  Abbott  of  Worcester,  Gay 
of  Hubardston,  Clarke  of  Rutland,  and  Conant  of  Paxton  (convened  at  Pax- 
ton). 

"  Having  attended  to  the  plan  and  contents  and  a  Lecture  of  Mr.  Smith's  Key, 
&c.,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  we  think  its  illustrations  of  the  types  and 
prophecies  contained  in  this  interesting  book  (the  Revelation)  are  laboured,  in- 
genious, and  to  a  considerable  degree  original ;  and  we  are  desirous  of  its  pub- 
lication." 

(Signed)  &c. 

Paxton,  May  S,  1833. 

From  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burr  to  the  Author. 

"  I  have  read  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Lectures  in  your  Key,  &c.  in  manu- 
script, and  have  attended,  more  or  less,  to  every  Lecture,  with  much  satisfaction. 
I  am  well  pleased  with  the  plan  of  the  work,  and  with  your  exposition  of  that 
difficult  and  highly  important  part  of  the  prophetic  Scripture,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge.  It  appears  "to  me  that  not  a  few  rays  of  new  light  are  thrown  upon  this 
closing  part  of  the  volume  of  Inspiration.  I  am  highly  delighted  with  the  numer- 
ous and  judicious  remarks,  doctrinal,  experimental,  and  practical,  with  which 
the  work  is  interspersed.  This  work,  it  appears  to  me,  will  be  one  of  the  fevr 
books  which  may  live,  in  many  improved  editions,  through  the  Millennium.  It 
will  be  thought,  I  doubt  not,  by  those  who  discern  the  signs  of  the  times,  a  very 
seasonable  and  useful  publication  at  this  highly  interesting  period  of  the  church, 
and  the  world.  1  therefore  hope  it  will  soon  be  given  to  the  public,  and  be  exten- 
sively read." 

(Signed)  JONATHAN  BURR 

Boston,  April  3.  1833. 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  Emmons. 
"  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir 

"When  I,  nearly  seven  years  ago,  heard  you  read  to  me  some  of  your  Lectures 
on  the  Revelation,  I  thought  you  treated  that  deep,  difficult,  and  important  sub- 
ject in  a  very  ingenious  and  lur^id  manner.  I  wish  to  see  this  work  published; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  but  it  will  meet  the  approbation  of  good  judges,  and  will  sub- 
serve the  great  cause  which  now  agitates  the  minds  and  awakens  the  hopes  and 
zeal  of  the  Christian  world.  The  friends  of  Zion  were  never  more  anxious  than 
at  present  to  learn  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  what  they  may  anticipate  will  be 
the  state  of  the  church  and  of  the  world,  before  the  Millennium,  during  the  Mil- 
lennium, and  thence  to  the  end  of  the  world.  I  know  all  Christians  ouvM,  and 
I  trust  they  loill  be  disposed  to  promote  the  circulation  of  a  volume  which  may 
serve  to  enlighten  and  animate  them  and  pursue  the  best  means  to  bring  on  tha 
universal  spread  of  the  gospel,  and  the  latter-day  glory  of  the  church." 

(Signed)  NATHANIEL  EMMONS, 

Franklin,  April  15,  1533, 

It  was  designed  to  have  this  work,  before  it  should  be  given  to 
the  public,  pass  under  the  eye  of  a  number  of  the  first  divines  in  the 
city  of  New- York ;  but,  unhappily,  numbers  of  them  are  abroad 
from  the  city  in  this  sultry  season  of  the  summer.  The  following 
gentlemen  have  attended  to  it,  and  given  their  views ;  which  are 
here  subjoined. 


iV  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

From  Rev.  Doctors  Brownlee  and  De  Witt. 
"  The  work,  entitled  a  Key  to  the  Revelation,  we  have  heard  explained,  and 
much  of  It  read,  by  the  author,  Rev.  Mr.  Smith.  It  is  the  fruit,  we  understand, 
of  many  years  study  of  the  prophecies.  And  Mr.  Smith  has  evidently  bestowed 
much  pains  to  arrive  at  the  true  and  correct  meaning  of  the  symbolic  language  of 
prophecy.  The  work  is,  in  our  judgment,  of  deep  and  laboured  research.  There 
is  much  ingenuity  in  his  arguments,  and  his  historical  illustrations.  It  has  much 
that  is  new ;  and  his  theory, — which  is  brought  forward  with  becoming  mod- 
esty,— seems  to  us  to  possess  unity  and  consistency.  And  it  does  not  consist 
merely  of  dry  dissertations  on  different  passages ;  but  has  a  pleasing  and  edify- 
ing spirit  of  piety  pervading  the  whole.  We  are  persuaded  that  the  book  will  be 
interestitig  and  instructive  to  all  classes  of  Christians:  and  we  recommend  it  to 
our  friends  accordingly." 

(Signed)  W.  C.  BROWNLEE, 

THOMAS  DE  WITT, 
Ministers  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  New-York. 
New-York,  August  7,  1833. 

"  Having  been  favoured  with  the  perusal  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith's  "  Key  to  the 
Revelation,"  I  am  hai)py  to  express  my  entire  concurrence  with  the  above  recom- 
mendation of  it  by  the  Rev.  Drs.  Brownlee  and  De  Witt.  It  may  be  read  with 
profit  by  all  who  desire  to  know  the  signs  of  the  times." 

ABSALOM  PETERS, 
Cor.  Secfy.  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society. 
New-York,  August  14, 1833. 

From  Rev.  Doctor  Mc  Cartee,  Rev.  Messrs.  Irvin,  Spencer,  and  Mason, 
"  We  have  heard  a  portion  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith's  Key  to  the  Revelation  read, 
and  its  general  views  explained  by  the  author;  and  we  are  very  happy  to  recom- 
mend it  to  the  attention  and  patronage  of  the  Christian  public.  It  is  a  work  of 
great  research  and  originality,  with  many  very  important  and  ingenious  views  of 
Scripture  prophecy.  The  author  has  evidently  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
peculiarities  of  symbolic  language,  and  with  the  general  design,  as  well  as  with 
the  particular  views  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures  of  which  he  treats.  There  is  a 
Tery  happy  addition  to  all  this,— in  the  vein  of  pious  and  practical  feeling  and 
rsmark,  which  runs  through  the  work.  It  is  important,  peculiarly  at  the  present 
period,  that  such  works  should  be  patronized,  read,  and  studied ;  "  for  the  time  is 
at  hand !" 

(Signed)  R.  Mc  CARTEE, 

Pastor  of  Canal-street  Presbyterian  Church,  Neiv-York. 
JAMES  IRVIN, 
Pastor  of  the  Second  Associate  Presbyterian  Church. 

I.  S.  SPENCER, 
Pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Brooklyn. 
ERSKINE  MASON, 
Pastor  of  the  Bleecker-street  Presbyterian  Church,  New-York. 
New-York,  August  9,  1833, 

From  Rev.  Mr,  Parkinson,  Pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  New-York. 

"Mr.  Smith  has  read  to  me  some  of  his  Lectures  on  the  Revelation  ;  and  has 
added  his  outlines,  views,  and  the  divisions  of  this  work  ;  and,  I  cheerfully  say, 
that  I  feel  a  strong  desire  to  see  this  work  published,  hoping  it  will  prove  a  sea- 
sonable help  to  the  church  of  Christ." 

(Signed)  WM.  PARKINSON 

New-York,  August  7,  1833. 

From  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baldtvin, 
*'  Attempts  of  inferior  and  hasty  writers  on  the  Revelation  have  often  resulted 
hi  mistake,  not  to  say  injurious  error.  Mr.  Mnitli's  Key  to  the  Revelation  has, 
in  my  opinion,  better  claims  to  our  respect.  It  is  clearly  a  production  of  deep 
thought  and  research.  Mis  plan  is,  to  a  good  extent,  new  ;  and  the  work  through- 
out is  interesting.  I  have  read  nothing  on  the  Revelation  which  afforded  me 
equal  satisfaction." 

(Signed)  ELIIIU  W.  BALDWIN, 

Pastor  of  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  New-York 
New-York,  August  15,  1833. 


PREFACE 


The  Revelation  has  been  esteemed,  to  a  great  degree, 
a  sealed  book.  But  God's  giving  it  to  man,  vi^ith  urgent 
directions  that  it  should  be  studied,  understood,  and  im- 
proved, seems  a  sure  pledge  that  it  was  not  always  to 
remain  sealed.  That  this  sublime  closing  part  of  our 
Holy  Bible, — which  should  be  viewed  as  the  collecting  of 
all  the  golden  rays  of  the  wonders  of  Divine  grace  to  a 
kind  of  burning  point., — may  be  understood,  and  devoutly 
improved,  is  much  to  be  desired.  Whenever  it  shall  be 
presented  in  an  unclouded  view  (should  this  in  time  be 
the  case) ;  its  simplicity,  probably,  will  excite  surprise  ! 
Intellect,  erudition,  and  a  patient  attention  to  the  nature  of 
its  language,  and  the  analogies  of  prophecy,  are  no  doubt 
indispensable  to  a  correct  investigation  of  this  mystical 
book.  But  these  are  not  all ;  a  man  may  possess  them, 
and  yet  be  as  far  from  the  true  knowledge  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, as  the  natural  man  is  from  understanding  the  things 
of  the  Spirit  ofGod;— and  as  the  world  by  its  wisdom  is 
from  knowing  God.  To  these,  must  be  added  not  only  a 
new  heart,  but  also  a  peculiar  unction  of  soul  in  the  spirit 
of  the  prophecies,  and  a  devout  feeling  of  the  following 
sentiments, — "  Not  by  might,  nor  by  power ;  but  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  !"  "  Not  by  words  which 
man's  wisdom  teacheth ;  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
teacheth,  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual."  The 
strong  wind,  the  earthquake,  and  the  fire,  are  presented  to 
us  as  destitute  of  the  presence  of  God.  But  the  "  still 
small  voice"  was  effectual, — the  Lord  was  there!  Happy, 
if  its  influence  might  be  shed  through  our  souls.  God 
will  so  work  that  ail  the  glory  shall  be  his.  See  1  Cor. 
i.  18-81. 

Very  early  in  my  ministry  I  felt  a  desire  to  understand 
the  Revelation  (as  may  be  seen  in  a  dissertation  which  I 
then  wrote,  and  have  inserted,  on  its  appropriate  text,  in 
A2 


VI  PREFACE. 

this  work,  chap.  xiv.  6,  7.  page  247).  My  leading  stu- 
dies, and  preaching,  for  more  than  42  years,  have  been 
on  the  great  doctrines  and  duties  of  the  gospel ;  and  but 
little  have  I  ever  preached  peculiarly  on  prophecies.  But 
a  convenient  portion  of  my  whole -ministry  I  have  de- 
lighted in  devoting  to  reading  and  studies  on  the  prophe- 
cies, especially  on  the  Revelation.  After  18  years  of  my 
ministry,  I  formed  the  outlines  of  my  present  sentiments 
on  the  Revelation,  which  I  submitted  to  the  eye  of  many 
most  able  divines  in  New-England,  and  had  the  pleasure 
of  their  approbation.  These  outlines  I  afterward  pro- 
ceeded to  fill  up  in  a  course  of  Lectures  on  the  whole  book. 
Eight  years  ago  I  supposed  them  finished,  and  exhibited 
them  to  some  who  expressed  a  desire  to  read  them  in 
print ;  but  the  publishing  of  them  I  deferred,  that  I  might 
further  watch  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  re-examine  the 
work.  I  now,  with  the  advice  of  many,  give  them  to  the 
public  with  only  this  apology,  that  the  subject  is  of  great 
interest : — that  the  public  attention  should  be  excited  to 
it ; — and  I  feel  my  right,  in  common  with  others,  to  "  show 
also  mine  opinion." 

Relative  to  the  style  of  this  work  ; — I  assure  the  critic, 
that  had  it  been  written  on  a  subject  generally  understood, 
and  written  to  please  as  well  as  to  instruct  the  literary 
world  ;  I  should  deem  my  repetitions,  and  often  renewed 
references,  with  the  commonness  of  the  style,  unpardon- 
able. But  when  I  recollect  the  difficulty  which  [  have 
found  in  attempting  to  grasp  and  retain  the  sense  of  the 
difliicult  parts  of  this  book  ;  and  that  the  great  body  of 
common  people  will  find  it  no  less  difficult ;  I  determined 
to  sacrifice  all  attempt  at  elegance  of  composition  to  the 
most  simple  and  perspicuous  method  of  instruction. 

I  will  just  add  ; — the  evidence  of  the  divine  authority 
of  the  Apocalypse  (to  the  eye  of  faith  and  intelligence) 
arising  from  the  fulfilment  of  its  predictions,  and  of  its 
composition,  is  as  clear^  as  that  God  formed  the  starry 
heavens.  The  disk  of  the  unclouded  sun  does  not  more 
clearly  testify  that  its  Creator  is  God  ! 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Boston,  Julj/  1,  1833. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

LECT.  I. — The  origin  and  nature  of  figurative  language  .  12 

The  divisions  of  the  Revelation, 17 

The    duty,   benefits,    and   encouragement   of  a  devout 

study  of  this  book, 23 

LECT.  II.  Chap,  i.— The  design  of  the  book;— and  the 

person  of  Christ,  &c., 31 

LECT.    III.    Chap,    ii.— Four    Epistles— One     to     the 

Church  of  Ephesus, 44 

One  to  the  Church  of  Smyrna,       .....  48 

One  to  the  Church  of  Pergamos,  .         .         .         ,         .  50 

One  to  the  Church  of  Thyatira, 53 

LECT.    IV.    Chap,    hi.— Three    Epistles— One    to   the 

Church  of  Sardis, 58 

One  to  the  Church  of  Philadelphia,        ....  61 

Oneto  the  Church  of  Laodicea, 65 


LECT.  V.  Chap,  iv.— A  door  opened,  &c. 
A  symbolic  view  of  God, 
Twenty-four  elders. 


Praise  on  the  occasion, 


LECT.  VI.  Chap,  vi.— Six  seals  opened,        .         •         • 

First  Seal— A   white  horse,   &c.— The  gom^  forth  of 

Christ  in  the  destruction  of  the  Jews ;  and  a  signal 

propagation  of  his  gospel,  .         '         '         '  ^      ' 

Second  Seal ;— A  red  horse,  &c.    The  bloody  scenes  from 

an  insurrection  of  the  Jews,  in  the  reign  of  Trajan,  . 


70 
70 

72 


Four  beasts,  with  a  sea  of  glass,     .         .         »         •         •  "> 

Chap,  v.— A  sealed  book  in  the  hand  of  God,  77 

No  creature  found  able  to  open  it,         .         .         •         •  ^8 

The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  was  able,        .         •         .  ^  ^y 


80 

85 

85 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

Third  Seal ; — A  black  horse,  &c.     The  deadly  famines 

in  thereignof  the  Antonines,     .         .         .         •         .  89 

Fourth  Seal ; — A  pale  horse,  &c.     Contentions,   &c., 

in  the  reign  of  Caracalla, 91 

Fifth  Seal ; — Souls  under  the  altar,  &c.  A  hint  of  a  pend- 
ing persecution,  and  of  inquisitions  for  blood,     .         .  93 

Sixth  Seal  ; — A  great  earthquake,  &c.  Revolution  in  the 

Koman  empire, 95 

LECT.  VII.  Chap.  vii. — Four  angels   holding  the  four 

winds 99 

Or  the  northern  invasions  deferred  for  a  sealing  time 

144,000  sealed, 100 

Chap.  viii.  Commenced. 

Seventh  Seal ; — Silence  in  heaven,        ....         105 
Incense  offered  by  Christ  on  the  golden  altar,  .         .         106 

Trumpet  I. — Hail,  fire,  and  blood,   &c.,  fulfilled  by  the 

northern  invasion, 108 

LECT.  VIII.  Chap  vm.— Continued. 

Trumpet  II. — A  burning  mountain  cast  into  the  sea,  &c. 

Plundering  of  Rome  by  the  Vandals,  &c.,  .         .         Ill 

Trumpet  III. — A  bitter  star  falling,    &c.     The  bitter 

wars  of  Odoacer, — and  bitterpersecutions  by  the  Arians,         112 
Trumpet  IV. — A  third  part  of  the  heavens  darkened,  &c. 

The  fall  of  the  empire, 114 

LECT.  IX.  Chap,  ix.— Two  wo  trumpets. 

Trumpet  V. — A  faUing  star  opens  the  bottomless  pit,  &c. 

The  rise  of  Mohammedism, 118 

Trumpet  VI. — Loosing  of  the  four  angels,   &c.     The 

rise  of  the  Turkish  empire, 124 

LECT.  X.  Chap.  x.  1-5.     A  notable  descent  of  Christ, 
&c.     Fulfilled  in  the  terrors  in  and  after  the  French 

revolution,  in  1789, 130 

A  history  of  some  of  the  terrors  of  a  closing  part  of  this 

scene,       .........         133 

LECT.  XL  Chap,  x.— Continued. 

The  seven  thunders, 142 

The  rise  of  the  power  in  this  chapter,  as  given  by  Daniel,  143 

The  oath  of  Christ,  as  explained  in  Daniel,  .         .         .  147 

The  little  book  taken  and  eaten, 150 

LECT.  XII.    Chap.  xi.  1-6 ; — Papal   abominations  un- 

measurable,       ........  153 

The  two  witnesses,       .......  155 

Their  power  over  judgments,         .....  158 

LECT.  XIII.  Chap,  xi.— Continued. 

The  slaying  of  the  witnesses,        .....         162 


CONTENTS. 


IX 

PAGE 


Nine  reasons   of  those  who  deem   the  event  as  now 

future, 163 

Their  resurrection,  &c., .172 

An  earthquake  following, 173 

Trumpet  VII. — And  the  commencement  of  the  Millen- 
nium,        174 

Close  of  the  first  general  division. 

Commencement  of  the  second  general  division.       .         .         179 


LECT.  XIV.  Chap.  xn.  1-12; — Commencing  with  the 
Christian   era,    giving  the  two  great  combatants,  the 

church  and  the  devil, 1 79 

The  object  of  this  chapter  stated, 179 

An  objection  answered  in  a  note,  .....  179 

An  emblem  of  the  church, — a  woman, — here  considered,  181 

Her  delicate  situation, 184 

Description,  and  position  of  the  devil,    ....  184 

Her  man-child  born, 186 

He  is  caught  up  to  the  throne, 186 

Objection  in  a  note  answered, 187 

The  woman  fled  into  a  wilderness  for  1260  years,  .         .  189 

War  in  the  papal  heaven, 190 

The  devil  cast  out  in  the  Reformation,  .         .         .         .  190 

Joy  and  praise  on  the  occasion, 193 

LECT.  XV.  Chap,  xii.— Continued. 

The  devil,  being  cast  down  in  the  Reformation,  persecutes 

the  woman, 196 

The  second  flight  of  the  Church  into  the  wilderness,     .  196 

This  brought  our  pilgrim  fathers  to  America,  .         .  199 

Eight  reasons  for  the  truth  of  this,         ....  199 

A  note  on  their  wars  with  the  natives,  .         .         .  204 

A  note  from  Dwight's  travels, 209 

A  note  on  the  two  wings  of  an  eagle,      ...        -  210 

LECT.  XVI.  Chap.  xii.  15,  to  end,  ....  213 
Flood  from  the  mouth  of  the  old  serpent,  to  destroy  the 

church, 213 

The  system  of  lUuminism, 213 

Dwight's  view  of  it,  and  its  extent,         ,  .         .  215 

Evidence  of  it  in  America,    ......  215 

The  earth  swallowed  up  the  floods,         ....  218 

Designs,  measures,  and  disappointment  of  Bonaparte,  .  219 
The  devil  was  wroth,  and  went  to  make  war  with  the 

remnant  of  the  woman's  seed,  &c.,    .         .         .         .  221 

LECT.  XVII.  Chap.  xiii.  1-10. 

The  secular  Roman  beast  the  same  as  in  Dan.  vii.  7,     .  225 

But  one  beast  can  exist  at  a  time  on  the  same  ground,     .  227 

LECT.  XVIII.  Chap,  xiii.— Continued. 

The  papal  beast, 233 


CONTENTS. 

His  rise  and  progress,  . 

His  two  horns  and  high  claims 

His  image  made  to  the  first  beast, 

His  miracles  and  tyranny,     . 

Objections  answered,     . 

The  mark  and  number  of  this  beast, 


LECT.  XIX.  Chap.  xiv.  1-5. 

The  Reformation,        ...... 

Verse  6. — The  present  missionary  angel  flying,  &c. 

A  Dissertation  on  this,  written  formerly, 

The  second  and  third  angels,         .... 

LECT.  XX.  Chap,  xiv.— Continued. 

Trials  to  the  church, 

The  harvest  and  vintage, 


LECT.  XXL  Chap.  xv. 

Preparation  for  the  vials, 

The  vials  given  into  the  hands  of  the  seven  angels  by  an 
emblem  of  the  gospel  ministry,  .... 


-Chaf.  XVI. — The  vials, 


The  old  scheme  of  the  vials, 

This,  and  a  following  one  unsatisfactory, 

Vial  L— Poured  on  the  earth,  &c.     The  Reformation, 


LECT.  XXIL  Chap.  xvi. 
Vial  L — Continued, 


-Continued. 


LECT.  XXIII.  Chap.  xvi. — Continued, 

Vial  il.— Poured  upon  the  sea,  &c.     Wars  in  Italy,  for 
fifty  years, 


LECT.  XXIV.  Chap  xvi.— Continued. 

Vial  III. — Poured  upon  the  rivers,  «&c.     Wars  in  other 
papal  lands,       ........ 

LECT.  XXV.  Chap,  xvi.— Continued. 

Vial  IV. — Poured  upon  the  sun,    ...... 

Parts  taken  by  kings  against  the  pope. 

Suppression  of  the  Jesuits,    ...... 

Their  code  of  laws, 


PAGE 

234 
236 
237 
238 
238 
240 


243 

246 
247 
254 


259 
260 


268 

271 

273 
273 
274 
275 


279 
288 
288 

297 


304 
304 
306 
306 


LECT.  XXVI.  Chap,  xvi.— Continued. 

Vial  V. — Poured  on  the  seat  of  the  papal  beast,  &c. 

Fulfilled  tbe  French  Revolution  of  1789,     . 
A  note,  further  giving  the  former  insolent  claims  of  the 

pope,         ......... 


LECT.  XXVII.  Chap,  xvi.— Continued. 
Vial  VI. — Poured  upon  the  Euphrates,  &c. 
version  of  the  Turks,         .         .        .         . 


The  sub- 


310 
311 

316 


CONTENTS.  ^^ 

PAGE 

LECT.  XXVIII.  Chap,  xvi.— Continued. 

The  three  unclean  spirits,  &c., 322 

The  fiilse  prophet  and  popery  are  the  same, — A  note,     .  223 

A  warning  voice  from  Christ, 326 

LECT.  XXIX.  Chap.  xvi. —Continued. 

Vial  VII. — Poured  into  the   air,  &c.     The  'destruction 

of  Antichrist, 330 

LECT.  XXX.  Chap,  xvn.— The  papal  harlot  on  the  beast,  337 

A  description  of  this  beast, 339 

A  sketch  of  his  rise  in  the  Voltaire  system  of  infidelity,  344 

LECT.  XXXI.  Chap,  xvn.— Continued. 

Further  views  of  the  rise  of  this  beast, — vast  enormities, 

&c., 348 

This  beast,  and  the  healed  head,  compared,     .         .         .  350 

A  note  on  a  rod  broken,  &c., 350 

The  horns  of  this  beast, 351 

LECT.  XXXII.  Chap.  XVIII. — Another  view  given  of  the 

descent  of  Christ,  in  Chap,  x., 354 

LECT.  XXXIII.  Ghap.  XIX.— The  battle  of  the  great  day 

of  God,  and  the  commencement  of  the  Millennium,     .  361 

Difficulties  solved  in  a  note,  ......  364 

This  secular  Roman  beast,  and  Gog  in  Ezekiel,  the  same, 

a  note, 366 

LECT.  XXXIV.  Chap,  xx.— The  binding  of  the  dragon,  370 

The  Millennium, 374 

Length  of  the  Millennium, 374 

Apostacy  at  the  close  of  it,     .         .         .         .         .         .  377 

Further  views  of  the  Millennium, 379 

Agency  of  the  Jews  in  the  final  conversion  of  the  world,  381 

LECT.  XXXV.  Chap.  xxi. — The  new  heavens,  and  new 

earth :  or  heaven, 383 

LECT.  XXXVI.  Chap,  xxii.— Views  of  future  glory  con- 
tinued,                ;         ...  390 

Closing  addresses  of  Christ,           <         .         .        .        .  394 


LECTURE  L 


INTRODUCTION. 

Our  Saviour  assures  us,  at  the  introduction  of  this 
sacred  book,  that  "  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they 
that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those 
things  which  are  written  therein ;  for  the  time  is  at 
hand."  Rev.  i.  3.  We  find  here  our  warrant,  and  our 
great  encouragement,  as  well  as  duty,  to  study  the  Reve- 
lation with  devout  and  diligent  attention. — I  would  con- 
tribute my  mite  to  the  correct  performance  of  this  duty, 
too  generally  neglected. 

In  this  introduction,  I  purpose  to  give  a  concise  view 
of  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  figurative  language 
which  abounds  in  it,  and  in  most  of  the  prophetic  writ- 
ings of  the  Bible  ;  then  note  the  divisions  found  in  the 
Revelation ;  and  exhibit  the  duty^  benefits,  and  encour- 
agements, which  urge  to  a  devout  and  diligent  study  of 
the  Apocalypse. 

What,  then,  are  the  origin  and  nature  of  figurative 
language?  This  kind  of  language  is  a  representing  of 
one  thing  by  another  ;  things  less  known,  by  things  better 
known  ;  and  sometimes  the  reverse.  Things  spiritual 
are  often  denoted  by  things  natural ;  as  in  the  bread  and 
wine  of  the  Holy  Supper. 

This  kind  of  language  had  its  origin  in  early  times, 
and  in  the  want  of  a  literal  language.  It  came  easily 
into  use  from  necessity  (which  is  the  mother  of  inven- 
tion) ;  and,  from  the  analogies  which  were  found  to  exist 
between  different  things,  it  was  found  to  be  easy  and 
natural  to  take  the  properties  of  one  thing  to  represent 
those  of  another.  People  of  very  limited  knowledge 
of  words,  wishing  to  communicate  their  ideas  (such  as 
they  were),  attempted  to  do  it  by  such  means  as  they 
found  within  their  power ;  and  those  were,  figures  bor- 
B 


14  LECTURE    I. 

rowed  from  things  with  which  they  had  some  acquaint- 
ance, and  between  which,  and  the  things  they  wished  to 
express,  they  discovered  (or  imagined  they  discovered) 
a  similarity.  Figures  thus  adopted  soon  became  famil- 
iar, and  were  received  as  the  names  of  the  things  thus 
expressed.  PVom  tliis  beginning,  men  proceeded  to 
compound  and  improve  their  figures,  as  they  wished  to 
denote  additional  qualities  or  circumstances  ;  and  hence, 
in  time,  arose  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  and  probably 
the  characters  used  by  the  Chinese. 

This  kind  of  language  had  a  natural  and  simple 
origin,  like  the  following:  A  child  sees  and  desires  an 
object,  but  knows  not  the  name  of  it.  He  reaches  out 
his  hand  for  it,  and,  if  he  can  say  any  thing,  he  calls  it 
by  the  name  of  something  which  he  knows,  and  between 
which  and  this  thing  he  imagines  he  perceives  a  resem- 
blance. And,  till  he  is  better  informed,  he  will,  proba- 
bly, continue  to  call  it  by  this  name.  Jn  such  kind  of 
simplicity  did  figurative  language  originate.  And  it  was 
not  discontinued  after  the  invention  and  improvement  of 
letters.  It  then  became  more  definite,  as  literal  defini- 
tions could  be  given  of  it,  and  as  language  improved. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  took  pleasure  in  expressing 
and  recording  their  mental  conceptions  in  figures,  which 
^vere  at  once  curious,  and  mysterious.  And  they  re- 
tained and  refined  this  use  of  figures,  after  they  made 
improvement  in  literature  ;  as  did  also  tlie  other  nations 
of  the  East.  What  was  at  first  adopted  from  necessity, 
was  afterward  retained  and  refined,  to  embellish  their 
language.  Men  of  the  first  eminence  deliglited  in  this 
use  of  their  figures  ;  and  they  often  exercised  their  own 
and  each  other's  invention  with  questions  involved  in 
this  kind  of  mystery.  Hence  originated  riddles,  de- 
signed both  to  please  and  to  instruct.  The  Greeks,  and 
then  the  Romans,  caught  this  manner  of  imbodying 
their  ideas  in  the  language  of  figures. 

It  might  then  have  been  expected  that  Israel,  after 
having  resided  four  hundred  years  in  Egypt,  in  the  dawn 
of  their  national  existence,  would  adopt  a  liberal  use  of 
this  kind  of  language ;  and  that  the  style  of  their  pro- 
phets, especially,  would  abound  with  it.     For,  although 


DITRODUCTION.  15 

the  prophets  wrote  by  inspiration,  yet  they  were  led  to 
record  their  inspired  conceptions  in  the  language  with 
which  they  were  familiar.  Their  prophecies  especially 
might  be  expected  to  abound  in  this  kind  of  language ; 
for  they  were  designed  to  be  vailed  in  various  degrees 
of  mystery,  at  least  for  a  time.  And  they  were  designed 
to  be  such  as  to  require  the  devout  and  patient  investiga- 
tions of  men  versed  in  the  language  and  analogies  of 
prophecy.  Hence  the  passage  is  appropriate — "  I  will 
open  my  mouth  in  parables  ;  I  will  utter  dark  sayings 
of  old." 

This  kind  of  language  is  capable  of  being  much  more 
easily  understood  than  many  imagine.  Literal  language 
is  unintelligible  till  rendered  familiar  by  improvement 
and  use ;  and  even  then  it  is  imperfect.  The  same 
word  often  imports  different  things  and  actions  ;  and  the 
true  sense  in  any  given  place  must  be  learned  from  the 
object  of  the  writer, — the  exegesis  of  the  discourse ; 
and,  with  this  consideration,  added  to  due  attention  to 
figurative  language,  it  may  be  rendered  familiar.  And 
it  is  so,  even  among  people  uncultivated.  The  natives 
of  our  continent  abound  in  this  kind  of  diction,  of  which 
they  form  the  most  ready  and  perfect  conceptions.  And 
we  easily  understand  their  figurative  communications,  in 
their  various  talks  to  our  people ;  and  not  only  so,  but 
we  are  arrested  with  the  strength  and  beauty  of  their 
communications,  much  more  than  we  should  be  with  the 
literal  and  simple  expressions  of  their  ideas. 

Figures  known  in  the  sacred  writings,  are  derived 
from  the  following  sources.— The  visible  heavens,  with 
the  planetary  system. — The  regions  of  the  air,  where 
winds,  storms,  lightnings,  and  thunder  are  generated. — 
The  earth,  water,  fires,  earthquakes,  minerals,  metals, 
stones. — The  vegetable  world  ;  trees,  grain,  plants. — 
The  sea,  with  its  waves,  billows,  and  depths. — Cities  in 
peace,  and  in  arms. — Wars,  leaders,  armies,  battles,  con- 
quests, and  captivities. — Houses,  with  their  furniture  ; 
temples,  prisons,  courts,  judicial  proceedings. — Roads, 
highways,  mountains,  deserts,  rivers,  brooks,  springs  of 
water. — The  human  body ;  its  sustenance,  ornaments, 
olothing ;   its  diseases ;  its  senses,  of  seeing,  hearing, 


16  LECTURE    I. 

smelling,  tasting,  and  feeling. — Domestic  relations,  and 
blessings. — Utensils  of  life — actions  of  men — times  and 
seasons. — The  animal  creation  ;  and  the  feathered  tribes. 
— ^Reptiles,  and  insects. — Monsters  of  the  earth ;  and 
fishes,  and  monsters  of  the  sea. — Also  assumed  forms 
from  the  invisible  world. 

Figures  from  these  sources,  with  various  combinations 
of  properties,  natural  and  unnatural,  occasionally  super- 
added, abound  in  the  word  of  God  ;  and  more  especially 
in  the  prophecies. 

The  same  figure  sometimes  relates  to  secular,  and 
sometimes  to  ecclesiastical  things.  When  the  former 
is  the  case,  the  heavens  (for  instance)  mean  the  system 
of  an  empire.  "  The  heavens  departed  as  a  scroll  !'* 
or,  an  empire  was  subverted.  "  The  powers  of  the 
heavens  shall  be  shaken !"  or,  the  political  world  shall 
be  rent.  The  sun,  in  that  case,  denotes  the  highest 
government  of  a  nation.  Its  being  turned  to  darkness, 
denotes  the  ruin,  or  deep  perplexity  of  the  supreme  civil 
authority.  The  stars  then  denote  the  subordinate  rulers 
of  a  nation.  Their  falling  from  heaven,  means  their  fall 
in  some  revolution.  And  the  moon  being  turned  to 
blood,  denotes  tremendous  slaughters. 

When  ecclesiastical  things  are  the  object ;  the  heavens 
(meaning  the  visible  heavens)  denote  the  visible  church 
on  earth.  The  sun  then  is  God,  or  Christ  the  Sun  of 
Kighteousness.  The  moon  then  denotes  the  elements 
of  this  world.  "  The  moon  was  under  her  feet."  The 
stars  then  denote  the  ministers  of  Christ ;  the  morning 
star,  Christ  himself.  "I  am  the  bright  and  morning 
star."  A  falling  star  is  an  apostate  teacher.  Light  is 
holiness ;  and  darkness  siii.  Dews,  showers,  and  rain 
are  the  kind  influences  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  God's 
raining  upon  the  wicked  snares,  means  his  providentially 
confounding  them  in  their  wickedness. 

Another  thing  is  to  be  remembered, — that  while  the 
language  of  prophecy  is  figurative,  the  figures  are  con- 
tinually interspersed  with  language  that  is  literal.  As 
the  particles  and  conjunctions  in  the  sentence  are  literal, 
various  things  predicated  of  the  figurative  subjects  that  are 
presented  are  no  less  literal.     For  instance ;  it  does  not 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

follow,  that  because  "  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  water," 
in  the  third  vial,  are  not  literally  so — but  are  nations; 
therefore  the  blood  into  which  they  are  said  to  be  turned, 
in  that  vial,  is  not  real  blood,  but  something  else  denoted 
by  blood.  The  blood  does  there  mean  real  blood,  into 
which  those  nations  are,  in  a  measure,  turned  in  wars ! 
as  the  angel  of  the  waters  exclaims,  '•'  They  have  shed 
the  blood  of  saints — and  thou  hast  given  them  blood  to 
drink,  for  they  are  worthy."  Wisdom  here  is  profitable 
to  direct,  and  will  direct  the  candid  improved  mind. 

A  few  instances  of  Bible  figures  shall  here  be  added. 
A  beast  is  a  figure  of  an  empire  that  is  hostile  to  the 
church.  And  as  there  can  be  but  one  supreme  power 
in  that  empire  or  region  at  the  same  time ;  so  there  can 
be  but  one  beast  in  the  same  region  at  the  same  time. 
Let  this  be  well  remembered.  A  horn  of  that  beast  is  a 
figure  either  of  its  strength,  or  of  some  leader  in  it,  as 
Alexander  was  the  notable  horn  of  the  he-goat  from  the 
west ;  or  a  horn  is  an  emblem  of  some  branch  of  that 
power.  Add  to  such  a  beast  an  unnatural  number  of 
horns  or  heads,  or  accommodate  him  with  wings,  and 
you  have  a  compound  figure.  And  unnatural  proper- 
ties may  be  added  to  any  amount,  to  denote  additional 
properties  in  the  power  denoted.  The  Babylonish  empire 
was  denoted  by  a  lion,  as  in  Dan.  vii. ;  and  eagles'  wings 
are  added,  to  denote  the  velocity  of  its  conquests.  The 
Grecian  empire  was  a  leopard,  with  four  wings,  to 
denote  still  greater  velocity  in  its  conquests  ; — and  four 
heads,  to  denote  four  parts,  into  which  the  empire  was 
divided.  The  terrible  beast  from  the  sea,  with  great 
iron  teeth,  was  the  secular  Roman  empire,  as  will  be 
seen. 

This  may  sufllice  for  this  part  of  the  subject,  as  light 
will  arise  upon  it  throughout  the  following  pages. 

The  divisions  of  the  Revelation  should  be  noted* 
These  will  be  found  to  be  seven  seals,  seven  trumpets, 
and  seven  vials,  as  will  be  shown  in  their  place.  But 
the  Savior  gives  to  John  a  division  of  this  book  thus ; 
*'  Write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  the  things 
which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall  be  hereafter." 
The  first  here  noted  was  the  vision  and  scene  of  the 
3% 


IQ,  LECTURE   I. 

first  chapter.  The  second  was  the  seven  epistles  to 
?he  seven  churches  then  in  Asia  Minor.  The  third 
("  the  things  which  shall  be  hereafter")  it  is  of  import- 
ance to  ascertain.  The  words  of  the  Savior  give  us 
latitude  among  all  events  then  future,  in  which  the 
church  should  have  an  interest,  and  which  can  be  shown 
fitly  to  accord  with  the  figures  of  the  prophecy. 

No  one  can  claim  a  right  to  select  several  only  of 
the  great  events  then  future,  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
events  of  equal  or  greater  magnitude.  A  man  who  will 
do  this,  must  surely  give  others  equal  latitude,  unless 
he  would  set  himself  up  as  an  oracle.  "  The  things 
that  shall  be  hereafter^^''  we  should  surely  think  must 
include  all  the  most  capital  events  in  the  church,  or  con- 
tiguous to  her,  in  which  she  would  have  a  deep  interest, 
and  which  might  well  accord  with  the  figure  predicting 
them. 

Could,  then,  "  the  things  which  should  be  hereafter," 
when  John  had  this  vision,  be  likely  to  be  restricted  to 
several  events  only,  or  several  kinds  of  events,  as  some 
have  imagined  ?  Would  they  be  restricted  to  the  over- 
turning of  the  Jewish  nation,  and  the  destruction  of 
paganism  in  the  Roman  empire  1  Must  the  seven  seals, 
the  seven  trumpets,  and  the  seven  vials,  be  construed  as 
all  alluding  only  to  those  events  of  early  times  ?  And 
may  one  decide  that  little  or  no  notice  is,  in  the  Revela- 
tions, taken  of  the  rise,  progress,  and  destruction  of 
popery,  and  of  Mohammedanism,  those  prime  and  vast 
pillars  of  Satan's  kingdom  1  no  notice  taken  of  the  Re- 
formation in  the  sixteenth  century,  that  plunging  of  the 
dragon  from  his  papal  heaven  ?  no  notice  taken  of  his 
subsequent  persecutions  of  the  Protestants,  v\'hen  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  were  destroyed  by  Jesuitical  influ- 
ence ?  no  notice  taken  of  the  flight  of  our  pilgrim  fathers 
to  this  new  world,  and  planting  here  a  cause  of  salva- 
tion which  was  to  convert  the  world  ?  no  notice  taken 
of  the  flight  of  the  ])resent  missionary  angel  round  the 
earth  to  preach  the  gospel  to  all  nations  ?  none,  of  the  ter- 
rors of  the  French  revolutions  of  1789,  and  its  twenty- 
five  years  of  most  terrific  wars,  and  the  subversion  of  the 
predominant  power  of  the  papal  see  !  no  notice  taken 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

of  the  present  subversion  of  the  Turks  !  and  no  notice 
of  the  utter  destruction  of  all  that  is  antichristian,  when 
God  assures  us  in  the  Old  Testament  he  will  "  gather 
the  nations,  and  assemble  the  kingdoms,  to  pour  upon 
them  his  indignation,  even  all  his  fierce  anger,  and  the 
whole  earth  shall  be  devoured  with  the  fire  of  his  jea- 
lousy ;  and  he  will  then  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  lan- 
guage, and  all  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  shall  serve  him  with  one  consent."  Those  two 
events  are  abundantly  given  in  this  same  connexion  in 
the  old  prophets.  Who  can  tell  then,  but  they  are 
among  the  "  things  which  shall  be  hereafter  ?"  The 
seventh  vial  is  called,  "  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of 
God  Almighty  !"  alluding  to  the  predictions  of  the  event 
found  in  the  ancient  prophets;  as  though  it  had  been 
said,  that  great  day  so  well  known  in  prophecy !  This 
event,  then,  must  surely  have  occupied  a  place  in  the 
description  of  "  the  things  which  shall  be  hereafter." 

The  vials  known  as  "  the  seven  last  plagues,"  must 
surely  be  viewed  as  having  their  effect  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Mohammedan,  the  papal,  and  the  infidel  powers 
in  the  last  days,  and  just  before  the  millennium  ; — even 
though  a  modern  critic  be  of  a  different  opinion.*  I 
shall  remain  confident  that  "the  things  which  shall  be 
hereafter,"  to  be  written  by  John,  were  the  line  of  the 
most  interesting  events,  in  the  protection  of  the  church, 
and  in  the  overthrow  of  her  enemies,  through  the  then 
future  ages  of  the  Christian  era.  I  have  never  heard 
an  objection,  nor  an  argument  against  this  being  the  fact, 
which  I  could  view  as  possessing  even  the  least  weight. 
And  all  arguments  from  analogy,  and  from  the  common 
sense  of  the  case,  are  fully  in  favor  of  it.  Why  should 
but  several  things  be  noted  :  and  all  things  else,  equally 
important,  and  even  of  greater  importance,  be  neglected? 

One  thing  is  found  in  the  prophetic  part  of  the  Reve- 
lation of  essential  interest  in  its  correct  exposition.  It 
is  this,  that  the  prophetic  part  is  found  in  two  great  and 
general  divisions ;  each  having  a  plan  peculiar  to  hself. 
After  a  notable  preparation,  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  chap- 

*  See  Ichhorn. 


20  LECTURE    I. 

ters,  for  an  unfolding  of  the  events  of  futurity,  prophecies 
in  the  first  division  commence,  in  the  sixth  chapter,  with 
the  opening  of  the  first  seal,  giving  an  event  near  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Christian  era.  It  thence  moves  onward 
through  a  period  of  about  two  thousand  years,  and  closes 
in  the  end  of  chapter  xi.,  in  presenting  the  battle  of  the 
great  day  of  God,  under  the  seventh  trumpet,  and  the 
millennial  kingdom  of  Christ.  A  second  general  divi- 
sion then  commences,  like  the  first,  with  a  plan  peculiar 
to  itself, — commencing  with  the  Christian  era,  and  pass- 
ing onward,  as  did  the  first  division,  through  the  whole 
Christian  era,  giving  under  new  figures  some  things 
noted  in  the  first  division,  and  others  not  there  noted. 
When  it  reaches  the  Millennium,  where  the  first  division 
closes,  and  gives  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God, 
and  the  Millennium ;  it  thence  proceeds  to  give  a  de- 
scription of  that  happy  period ;  of  an  apostacy  at  the 
close  of  it ;  of  the  general  judgment;  and  of  heaven. 

The  truth  of  these  two  general  divisions  is  manifest 
to  the  eye  of  the  intelligent  reader. 

The  seventh  trumpet,  closing  the  first  division,  is 
most  manifestly  the  same  event  with  the  seventh  vial 
closing  the  reign  of  Antichrist,  in  the  second  division. 
Compare  the  two  passages,  chap.  xi.  14,  to  the  end, 
with  chap.  xvi.  17,  to  the  end,  and  you  will  see  they 
give  the  same  event,  in  figures  essentially  and  almost 
precisely  the  same  ;  and  the  two  events  stand  in  the  very 
same  connexion  with  the  Millennium,  which  both  alike 
introduce :  and  both  alike  allude  to  the  Old  Testament 
predictions  of  their  events.  The  trumpet  is,  "  as  God 
hath  revealed  to  his  servants  the  prophets"  (chap.  x.  6, 
7) ;  and  the  vial  is  said  to  be  "  the  battle  of  that  great 
day  of  God  Almighty,"  alluding  to  the  same  predictions 
of  it  in  the  prophets  ; — that  day  so  well  known  !  (chap, 
xvi.  14.)  These  two  events  being  the  same,  and  each 
description  of  the  same  event  being  the  close  of  its 
septenary,  in  its  general  divisions, — show  that  they  be- 
long to  two  distinct  divisions,  however  they  do,  in  this 
fall  of  Antichrist,  meet  in  unison. 

There  is  found  in  these  two  general  divisions  every 
mark  of  duality  of  plans.     Their  events  commence  in 


INTRODTJCTION.  21 

about  the  same  period,  and  terminate  in  the  same  period  ; 
and  they  pursue  their  objects,  each  in  its  own  plan,  in  an 
independent  set  of  figures,  as  will  be  seen.  They  thus 
contain  every  essential  mark  of  two  divisions. 

When  I  first  discovered  that  these  two  general  divi- 
sions exist  in  the  prophetic  part  of  the  Revelation,  T  sup- 
posed it  had  never  before  been  by  any  one  discovered ; 
and  I  wondered  it  had  not  been,  and  improved.  When 
I  obtained  Scott's  Bible,  I  turned  to  the  passage,  and 
was  pleased  and  confirmed  in  my  views,  in  finding  he 
had  noted  it.  He  says,  "  The  prophecies  of  this  book 
naturally  divide  themselves  into  two  TpartsT  And  he 
adds,  "Inattention  to  this  has  occasioned  much  per- 
plexity in  many  attempts  to  explain  those  predictions." 
And,  conversing  not  long  since  with  Professor  Stuart, 
of  Andover,  on  the  general  principles  of  expounding  the 
Revelation,  and  being  very  happy  to  find  a  good  gen- 
eral agreement  of  our  views ;  I  asked  him,  if  he  had 
discovered  this  general  division  in  the  prophetic  part 
of  the  Revelation  ?  He  replied  that  he  had  ;  and  that 
it  was  most  fully  evident  that  such  a  division  commenced 
with  the  twelfth  chapter. 

This  duality  of  courses  over  the  same  period,  affords 
a  most  happy  facility  in  the  exposition  of  the  book. 
Place  the  two  courses  of  the  divisions  side  by  side ; 
and  place  by  them,  as  a  third  column,  the  history  of  the 
church,  internal  and  external,  during  the  same  period ; 
and  these,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  prophetic  figura- 
tive language  of  the  Revelation,  together  with  the  aid 
furnished  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  of  which  a  portion 
of  the  Revelation  is  but  an  inspired  exposition, — and  a 
pious  intelligent  expositor  is  happily  prepared  for  his 
work. 

With  such  data,  God  has  kindly  furnished  us  ;  and  no 
part  of  it  should  be  overlooked,  undervalued,  or  misim- 
proved. 

Such  an  expositor  is  not  now  fettered  with  the  old 
idle  theory,  that  as  the  seventh  seal  contains  all  the 
trumpets  ;  so  the  seventh  trumpet  must  be  construed  as 
containing  all  the  vials.  This  cannot  be,  and  is  not 
correct :  for  the  trumpets  and  the  vials  belong  to  two 


22  LECTURE    I. 

different  general  divisions  of  the  prophetic  part  of  the 
book.  But  the  greatness  of  the  event,  the  battle  of  that 
great  day  of  God,  occasions  it  to  be  given  as  the  last  in 
the  grand  septenary  of  each  of  these  divisions.  The 
two  general  divisions  strike  here  in  unison,  in  the  sev- 
enth trumpet,  and  the  seventh  vial. 

With  the  facility  afforded  by  the  view  of  these  two 
general  divisions,  the  commentator  is  not  now  reduced 
to  a  necessity  of  cutting  the  prophecies  of  this  book  in 
pieces ; — treating  things  which  are  synchronical,  as 
being  many  centuries  apart ;  and  things  many  centuries 
apart,  as  being  one  and  the  same ;  connecting  things 
which  have  no  connexions ;  and  destroying  the  chro- 
nology of  most  of  the  events  in  the  book.  It  is  in  no 
small  degree  painful,  to  see  how  much  of  this  is  done 
by  men  learned  in  books  and  letters,  not  excepting  an 
Ichhornl  Every  expositor,  destitute  of  the  knowledge 
and  improvement  of  these  two  general  divisions,  is 
trammelled,  and  utterly  unprepared  for  his  work,  even 
if  he  had,  besides,  all  the  learning  of  a  Raphael. 

The  other  divisions  of  this  book  will  be  shown  in 
their  places.  The  six  first  seals  give  a  course  of  judg- 
ments on  pagan  Rome,  from  the  last  quarter  of  the  first 
century,  till  about  the  close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the 
fourth  century.  The  four  first  of  the  trumpets  then 
commence  a  following  course  of  judgments  on  the  Chris- 
tian empire,  after  the  revolution  under  Constanline 
from  paganism ; — fulfilled  in  the  northern  invasions  on 
the  empire,  till  the  dethroning  of  its  last  emperor 
Momylus.  The  first  of  the  three  wo  trumpets  then 
sounded,  in  the  rise  of  Mohammedism.  The  second,  in 
the  rise  of  the  grand  supporter  of  it, — the  Turkish  em- 
pire. The  third  will  destroy  Antichrist.  And  the  vials 
of  the  seven  last  plagues,  in  the  second  division,  will 
occupy  the  space  between  the  second  and  the  third  wo 
trumpets  ;  the  seventh  of  which,  and  the  third  wo  trum- 
pet will  be  the  same,  as  has  been  seen. 

1  now  proceed  to  consider  the  duty,  benefits,  and  en- 
couragement of  a  devout  and  diligent  study  of  the  Rev- 
elation. These  are  found  in  the  text ;  "  Blessed  is 
he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

prophecy,  and  keep  the  things  that  are  written  therein ; 
for  the  time  is  at  hand."     AVe  observe, 

1.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  demands  tliis  duty,  as  well 
as  encourages  it.  The  language  of  our  text,  and  the 
giving  of  the  Revelation,  imply  a  demand  of  the  duty. 
And  seven  times,  in  this  book,  is  the  same  found  in  these 
words,  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saiih  unto  the  churches."  Four  times,  when  new 
scenes  of  Providence  open,  it  is  commanded,  "  Come, 
and  see !"  And,  annexed  to  deep  prophecies,  is  the 
divine  command,  "  Whoso  readeth,  let  him  understand." 
Shall  man  object,  and  say,  the  attempt  is  in  vain  ? 

2.  The  fact,  that  a  great  section  of  the  Bible  consists 
in  prophecies  of  events  then  future,  tacitly  enforces  this 
duty.  Little  is  the  objector  to  the  study  of  the  prophe- 
cies aware  how  great  a  part  of  the  Bible  he  virtually 
condemns ;  and  to  how  great  a  degree  his  so  doing,  im- 
peaches the  wisdom,  and  undervalues  this  great  mercy 
of  God. 

But,  if  a  part  of  the  prophetic  Scriptures  may  be 
neglected,  where  shall  the  line  be  drawn  ?  All  events 
now  future  are  known  to  man  only  by  prophecy.  It  is 
here  alone  that  we  learn  a  resurrection, — a  judgment 
before  the  bar  of  God, — the  conflagration  of  the  world, 
— the  certainty,  and  the  eternity  of  future  retributions 
of  bliss  and  wo  !  May  the  prophecies  of  these  events 
be  neglected  ?  If  not,  who  dares  to  plead  for  a  neglect 
of  those  which  assure  us  of  the  Millennium ;  of  the 
battle  of  that  great  day  of  God ;  of  the  destination  of 
the  Jews  ;  of  the  vials  of  the  last  plagues  ;  and  of  the 
events  of  the  Revelations  ? 

3.  Much  of  the  ancient  preaching  of  a  Saviour  then  to 
come,  was  in  types  and  figures  not  less  dark  than  are 
most  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Revelation.  Israel  had 
their  preaching  of  Christ,  in  the  brazen  serpent, — in  the 
water  from  the  rock, — in  the  sea  of  brass, — the  candle- 
stick,— the  sacrifices, — the  burning  of  incense, — and 
the  clusters  of  temple  emblems, — "  shadows  of  good 
things  to  come !"  And  would  not  the  very  objection, 
now  often  made  against  the  study  of  the  Revelation, 
that  it  is  deep  and  difficult,  have  Iain  with  equal  weight, 


24  LECTURE   I. 

at  least,  against  the  duty  of  attempting  to  discover  their 
Messiah  in  those  ancient  figures  1  The  affirmative  is 
most  manifest.  We  are  assured  that  "  the  rock  which 
followed  them,  was  Christ."  They  had  no  express  in- 
formation relative  to  this,  nor  to  any  other  type  of  Christ. 
But  they  were  "  shut  up  to  the  faith,"  to  find  here  their 
Redeemer,  or  perish.  Nor  had  they  one-eighth  part  of 
the  facilities  which  we  now  enjoy,  relative  to  the  con- 
struing of  such  figurative  prophecies. 

The  condemnation  of  those  who  would  not  investi- 
gate that  figurative  preaching  of  Christ,  was,  their  wajit 
of  faith  !  "  To  them  was  the  gospel  preached,  as  well 
as  unto  us  ;  but  the  word  preached  did  not  profit  them, 
not  being  mixed  with  faith  in  them  that  heard  it."  Tiie 
believers  of  that  day  "  searched  what,  and  what  manner 
of  time,"  that  preaching  of  the  Saviour  to  come,  did 
signify.  And  the  person  who  trifled  then  with  this 
duty,  was  the  infidel,  on  his  way  to  perdition  !  Such  an 
one,  probably,  quieted  his  conscience  thus  : — The  con- 
structi®n  given  to  these  figurative  things,  which  they 
say  allude  to  the  Messiah  to  come,  appears  but  fanciful, 
visionary,  and  uncertain  !  Different  men  may  have 
their  different  views  of  them  ;  and  one  has  as  good  a 
right  to  his  opinion  as  another.  All  cannot  be  right ! 
and  I  will  believe  none  of  them  !  We  have  plain  scrip- 
tural rules  of  morality  enough;  and  to  those  I  will 
attend  ;  and  I  will  leave  such  figurative  predictions  for 
those  who  delight  in  them.  I  have  no  such  delight ; 
lor  to  me  they  are  uncertain,  calculated  to  perplex,  and 
are  of  no  solid  benefit !  Precisely  would  this  have 
been,  as  too  many  have  conversed  concennng  the  study 
of  the  Revelation. 

4.  This  neglect  is  to  set  our  own  wisdom  above  the 
word  of  God,  and  against  it,  as  is  manifest.  Let  an- 
other class  of  men  select  the  doctrinal  parts  of  the 
Bible  for  proscription,  as  being  too  deep  and  difHcult  to 
be  understood.  Some  of  the  doctrines  are  not  less 
deep  and  difficult  than  are  the  prophecies ;  and  they 
are  far  from  being  less  displeasing  to  the  carnal  mind 
which  is  enmity  against  God  !  Let  one,  then,  deny  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  the  divinity  of  Christ,  be- 


INTROmJCTION.  "SB 

ea«se  it  is  dark  and  mysterious  ;  let  anotlier  class  of 
men  deny  the  most  displeasing  parts  of  the  duties  of 
religion  ;  another,  the  terrors  of  an  eternal  hell  !  These 
things,  and  much  of  our  holy  religion,  are  deep ;  and, 
to  the  wicked  among  men,  they  seem  mysterious.  And 
where  will  this  course  of  expunging  deep  and  displeas- 
ing things  from  the  Bible  end,  but  in  gross  infidelity  ? 
But  Christ  says,  "I  testify  to  every  man  that  heareth 
the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,  (that)  if  any 
man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall  add  unto 
him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book  :  And,  if 
any  man  shall  take  away  from  the  words  of  this  pro- 
phecy, God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book 
of  life,  and  out  of  the  holy  city,  and  from  the  things 
that  are  written  in  this  book."  When  I  have  heard 
peoplie  openly  discourage  all  critical  attention  to  the 
Revelation,  and  felicitate  themselves  that  they  never 
«pent  their  time  in  thus  attending  to  it ;  I  have  thought 
this  passage  may  well  make  them  tremble  ! 

It  is  a  remark  of  Bishop  Newton,  that  "  they  who  cen- 
■sure,  or  dissuade  from  the  study  of  the  Revelation,  do  it, 
for  most  part,  because  they  have  not  themselves  studied 
it ;  and  because  they  imagine  difficulties  to  be  greater 
than  they  are."  I  lately  saw  the  following  remark  in  a 
religious  periodical: — "The  wisest  commentators  have 
scarcely  effected  more  than  to  puzzle  themselves,  and 
bewilder  their  readers,  when  they  have  attempted  to 
interpret  the  prophecies  before  they  are  fulfilled.  The 
times,  and  the  seasons,  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own 
power !" 

Was  the  writer  of  this  clause  aware  how  directly  this 
sentiment  is  pointed  against  Jesus  Christ  himself?  He 
says,  concerning  deep  prophecies,  "  Let  him  that  readeth 
understand."  "  Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of 
this  book ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand."  How  then  can  a 
minister  of  Christ  dare  thus  to  seal  the  sayings  of  pro- 
phecy, while  their  events  are  at  hand,  or  are  future  ;  and 
seal  them,  because  they  are  future  ?  Christ  says  again, 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth  the  words  of  this  prophecy, 
and  keepeth  those  things  that  are  written  therein."  Again  : 
"Ye  hypocrites,  how  is  it  that  ye  cannot  discern  tlie 
signs  of  the  times?"  If  the  prophecies  are  not  to  be 
studied  till  fulfilled,  they  are  never  to  be  studied ;  for,  in 
C 


26  LECTURE    I. 

that  case,  it  never  could  be  known  when  they  are  fulfilled. 
The  argument  of  this  writer,  drawn  from  the  words  of 
Christ  to  the  Jews,  is  plausible,  but  is  wholly  fallacious. 
Secret  things,  it  is  true,  the  Father  has  reserved  in  his 
own  power ;  and  those  it  is  not  for  man  to  know.  This 
was  the  case  with  the  point  concerning  which  the  disciples 
inquired,  and  this  remark  of  Christ  was  made  :  "  Wilt 
thou  at  this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?"  God 
had  revealed  no  such  event  as  the  restoring  of  a  temporal 
kingdom  to  Israel !  And  our  Saviour  kindly  turned  them 
off  with  the  above  reply ;  knowing  that  a  few  days,  and 
his  pouring  out  of  his  spirit  upon  them,  would  cure  them 
of  this  their  mistake !  But  did  the  Saviour  mean  by  this 
remark  to  inform  us  (as  this  writer  takes  for  granted)  that 
the  Father  has  revealed  nothing  to  man  relative  to  the 
times  and  seasons  of  the  great  events  which  are  in  fact 
to  take  place  between  the  present  time  and  the  end  of  the 
world?  If  this  is  a  fact,  then  our  writer's  remark  is 
correct ;  not  otherwise.  But  this  is  not  a  fact.  God  has 
revealed  various  of  those  great  events  ;  and  has  expressly- 
informed  of  the  time  of  them  ;  and  more, — he  has  com- 
manded man  to  study,  and  understand  those  things. 
Which,  then,  shall  we  obey ;  our  heavenly  Father,  or  the 
man  who  will  not  study  the  prophecies  ?  Is  there  not 
something  here  that  looks  like  arrogance  and  impiety  ; — 
publicly,  and  indiscriminately,  to  blame  all  who  attempt  to 
understand  the  prophecies  ?  This  has  been  abundantly 
done  ;  and  it  gives  no  small  degree  of  pain  to  see  good 
men  uniting  in  it.  Let  this  writer  consider  that  notwith- 
standing what  our  Lord  thus  said  to  his  erring  disciples 
on  that  occasion,  the  Father  had  revealed  to  man  "  the 
times  and  seasons''''  of  many  things  ;  such  as  the  return  of 
Israel  from  Egypt ;  as  well  as  the  time  of  the  flood,  120 
years.  And  the  latter  took  place,  we  are  informed,  the 
''''Same  day'"'  as  predicted.  God  predicted  the  time  of  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah ;  and  the  time  of  the  return  of 
the  Jews  from  Babylon.  And  God  has  as  expressly  pre- 
dicted the  times  of  some  of  the  great  future  events ;  and 
has  done  it  ovier^  and  over^  and  over !  as  the  destruction  of 
Antichrist,  at  the  close  of  the  noted  1260  years.  He  has 
given  by  Daniel,  numbers  additional  to  this,  as  30  and 
43 ;  at  the  close  of  which,  he  says,  "  Blessed  is  he  that 
waiteth,  and  cometh  !"     And  God  has  told  us  of  another 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

express  number,  666  ;  and  given  express  direction  to 
have  it  counted  and  understood !  What  can  be  the  views 
of  a  man  who  shall  then  wish  to  bring  all  due  attention 
to  these  directions  of  Heaven  into  disrepute  ?  and  mis- 
takingly  plead  the  words  of  Christ  himself,  too,  to  sanc- 
tion it  ?  Let  such  a  man  take  his  own  liberty ;  and 
to  his  Master  he  stands  or  falls.  But  let  him  give  to 
others  the  hberty  he  himself  takes,  without  publicly  cen- 
suring them  !  Daniel  previously  understood  by  book,  we 
are  informed,  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  from 
Babylon,  as  well  as  the  certainty  of  the  event.  And  he 
hence  set  himself  to  intercede  with  God  for  its  accom- 
plishment ;  and  it  took  place  in  answer  to  his  intercession. 
Would  not  such  an  employment,  excited  by  such  pious 
attention  to  the  prophecies,  be  more  discreet  for  us,  than 
to  unite  in  the  clamour  against  such  an  employment,  and 
against  those  who  attempt  to  investigate  this  part  of  our 
holy  Bible? 

5.  The  prophecies  were  kindly  given  of  God  to  warn 
his  people  of  interesting  events,  while  they  were  still 
future ;  that  they  may  be  prepared  either  to  escape,  or  to 
endure  the  trials  predicted  ;  and  may,  by  their  prayers, 
and  talents,  aid  the  accomplishment  of  good  to  the 
church.  Daniel,  it  has  been  shown,  did  thus  !  And  thus 
it  should  be  now,  in  relation  to  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
Some  have  said,  the  prophecies  were  given  only  that  the 
divinity  of  the  Bible  may  be  evinced  after  their  fulfilment. 
Was  this  the  onhj  or  chief  end  of  the  ancient  predictions 
of  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh?  that  after  he  had 
come,  man  might  know  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  God? 
Is  this  the  only  end  of  the  predictions  of  the  final  judg- 
ment ;  of  heaven ;  and  of  hell  ?  no  more  is  it  the  only 
(or  the  chief)  end  of  the  prophecies  in  the  Revelation,  of 
the  great  events  of  the  last  days.  Their  design  is,  that 
God's  people  should  "  not  be  in  darkness,  that  that  day 
should  overtake  them  as  a  thief"  But  that  they  may  be 
prepared  to  obey  Christ,  when  he  says,  (between  the  sixth 
and  seventh  vials,)  "Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief;  blessed  is 
he  that  watcheih,  and  keepeth  his  garments ;  lest  he  walk 
naked,  and  they  see  his  shame."  Much  does  Christ  give 
the  command,  at  that  day,  watch,  watch,  watch !  "  Come, 
my  people,  enter  into  thy  chambers !" — All  of  which 
imphes  a  knowledge  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  of  the 


2S  LECTURE    Iv 

events  then  coming  upon  the  world.  It  is  said  of  the 
ungodly  of  that  period,  "none  of  the  wicked  shall  under- 
stand ;  but  ihe  wise  shall  understand."  Of  the  former  it 
is  said,  "  Thy  judgments  are  far  above  out  of  his  sight." 
Of  the  latter,  "  When  ye  see  all  these  things^^then  know 
that  it  is  near  even  at  the  doors."  In  th«  numerous 
scriptures  of  this  tenor,  is  fully  implied  the  duty  and 
blessedness  of  a  good  knowledge  of  the  Revelation  in  its 
predictions  and  warnings. 

6.  Events  of  modern  date  have  much  facilitated  the 
exposition  of  this  book.  They  have  furnished  a  clew  to 
some  of  the  most  interesting  predictians  in  it,  which  were 
never  before  furnished.  In  addition  now  to  the  learned 
labours  of  past  celebrated  authors ;  we  have  facts,  m 
modern,  and  in  passing  events,  which  prove  a  rich  help  to 
the  exposition  of  this  book.  Should  these  facilities  be 
overlooked,  we  should  be  most  inexcusable ,  and  should 
appropriate  to  ourselves  the  censure  of  Christ, — "  Ye 
hypocrites  ;  ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky  !  how  is  it 
that  ye  cannot  discern  the  signs  of  the  times  ?" 

How  is  such  neglect  consistent  with  the  duty  of  the 
Christian  watcliman?  Is  he  not  set  to  give  warning  of 
the  approach  of  danger,  as  well  as  to  comfort  the  people  of 
God  with  the  promises  of  good  ?  To  do  this,  the  preacher 
must  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  and  "  diminish  not 
a  word."  People  feel  that  they  have  a  right  to  inquire, 
"Watchman,  what  of  the  night?" — and  that  he  ought  to 
be  abl-e  to  give  them  some  correct  reply.  It  is  given  in 
divine  command,  relative  to  the  approach  of  the  battle  of 
that  great  day  of  God,  Joel  ii.  1  ;  "  Blow  ye  the  trumpet 
in  Zion ;  sound  an  alarm  in  my  holy  mountain  ;  let  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  (earth)  tremble  for  the  day  of  the 
Lord,  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand." 

7.  The  prophecies  in  the  Revelation  open  a  rich  field 
of  devout  contemplation,  and  of  the  improvement  of  the 
succession  of  events  of  the  Christian  era,  which  are  there 
predicted  as  of  signal  interest  to  the  church.  The  line  of 
those  events, — of  protection  to  the  church, — and  of  wrath 
upon  her  enemies, — God  saw  fit  kindly  to  foretell,  for  the 
rich  benefit  of  his  children,  to  warn  them  of  their  dangers, 
and  to  assure  them  of  his  protecting  goodness.  And  shall 
such  divine  kindness  be  unheeded  !  What  ingratitude  and 
folly ! 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

Such  events  are  not  to  be  contemplated  merely  as  things 
political ;  but  as  the  works  of  the  Almighty,  in  vindication 
of  his  justice  and  of  his  grace,  and  in  faithfulness  to  his 
word.  This  gives  to  saints  a  new  interest  in  those  events, 
while  their  faith  is  invigorated,  and  their  warm  devotion 
and  confidence  in  God  excited.  They  hence  learn  and  feel 
that  God  is  indeed  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  Zion  ;  that 
they  who  be  with  us,  are  more  than  they  who  be  with  the 
enemy !  that  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us ;  the  God  of 
Jacob  our  refuge  ! — that  he  will  indeed  "  create  on  every 
dwelling  place  of  Mount  Zion,  a  cloud  and  smoke  by  day, 
and  a  fire  by  night ;  and  on  all  the  glory  shall  be  a  defence." 
The  histories  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament  are  of  this 
kind  ;  such  as  the  deluge  ; — the  burning  of  Sodom  ; — the 
bringing  of  Israel  from  Egypt ; — the  scene  at  the  Red  Sea ; 
— events  of  Israel  in  the  vvilderness,  in  Canaan,  in  Baby- 
lon ;  numerous  protections  of  the  church,  and  judgments 
on  her  enemies ; — these  furnish  sources  of  rich  Christian 
instruction  and  consolation.  And  no  less  will  the  events 
predicted  in  the  Revelation  do  it,  when  duly  understood ; 
particularly  the  protections  of  the  church,  and  the  terrors 
of  divine  wrath  on  her  enemies,  through  the  period  of  the 
Christian  dispensation,  and  especially  near  the  Millen- 
nium. These,  when  seen  in  their  true  light,  and  duly 
improved,  will  nourish  and  enrich  the  faith  and  confidence 
in  God  of  his  dear  people.  And  for  these  purposes  the 
prophecies  of  the  Apocalypse  should  not  fail  of  being 
studied  and  improved. 

With  this  conviction,  I  have  for  many  years  desired  to 
become  myself  acquainted  with  the  true  sentiments  of  the 
Revelation ;  desiring,  that  the  vail  which  has  so  long  lain 
upon  it,  may  be  in  a  greater  degree  removed  ;  and  that  the 
intelligent  and  practical  improvement  maybe  made  of  this 
closing  part  of  the  Bible,  which  the  importance  of  the 
subject  most  clearly  demands.  Most  of  the  expositions,  in 
this  key,  of  events  which  were  antecedent  to  the  sixteenth 
century,  essentially  agree  with  the  most  approved  com- 
mentators. Relative  to  events  since  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  particularly  the  five  first  vials,  and  the 
synchronical  predictions  of  the  judgments  which  fulfilled 
them ; — in  these  things,  my  path  has  been  new.  No 
antecedent  scheme  of  the  vials  has  been  satisfactory  to 
C2 


30  LECTURE    I. 

intelligent  readers ;  and  my  views  of  these  particulars 
have  had  the  approving  testimony  of  the  best  of  men. 

It  will  be  seen  that  I  have  not  cumbered  my  pages  with 
the  views  given  of  many  writers  on  the  various  subjects ; 
nor  with  any  refutations  of  those  I  do  not  approve.  This 
would  have  but  perplexed  common  readers, — rendered  my 
book  unwieldy, — and  provoked  altercation.  It  is  enough 
for  me,  after  examining  all,  to  give  the  result  of  my  own 
judgment  on  each  point ;  and  others  may  do  the  same. 

If  my  views  are  expressed  as  though  /  believed  them; 
I  yet  lay  no  claim  to  infallibility.  To  err,  is  human! 
and  it  would  be  like  a  miracle,  if  in  such  a  course  as  I 
have  been  led  to  take,  there  should  be  no  error.  But  the 
events  of  Providence,  for  twenty  years,  have  been  such  as 
to  confirm  me  in  the  essential  correctness  of  the  views 
which  I  had  formed  before  that  period.  Several  circum- 
stantial errors  I  have  discovered  and  corrected.  I  have  felt 
the  impropriety  of  venturing  too  minutely  on  the  circum- 
stantial parts  of  finure  scenes.  This  has  been  one  sad 
error  of  writers  on  the  prophecies, — seeming  to  wish  to  be 
prophets,  instead  of  being  simply  expounders  of  prophecy. 
If  a  degree  of  this  has  crept  into  some  of  my  past  writings  ; 
I  have  since  designed  to  set  a  double  guard  against  its 
creeping  into  my  present  pages.  May  the  subjects  of  the 
Revelation  be  examined  with  that  prayerful,  candid,  and 
diligent  attention,  which  their  solemnity  and  magnitude 
demand.  And  may  it  be  done  with  that  aid  of  the  divine 
spirit, — that  holy  unction  of  grace, — without  which,  this 
part  of  our  holy  oracles,  and  the  whole  Bible  itself,  will  be 
hut  a  dead  letter,— a  savour  of  death  !. 


LECTURE    II. 


REVELATION    I. 

Ver.  1.  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which 
God  gave  unto  him,  to  shew  unto  his  servants  things 
which  must  shortly  come  to  pass;  and  he  sent  and 
signified  it  by  his  angel  unto  his  servant  John: 

2.  Who  bare  record  of  the  word  of  God,  and  of 
the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  all  things  that 
he  saw. 

This  book  is  called  the  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  be- 
cause Christ,  as  the  Head  of  the  church,  gave  it  to  man. 
The  Father  is  spoken  of  as  having  given  it  to  Christ,  in 
allusion  to  the  official  inferiority  of  Christ  to  the  Father ; 
he  having  engaged,  in  the  covenant  of  redemption,  to 
operate  as  Mediator  between  God  and  fallen  man,  and 
thus  to  occupy  a  sphere  of  subordination  to  the  Father  in 
the  great  work  of  redemption.  May  this  distinction  be 
ever  remembered,  that  this  inferiority  of  Christ  to  the 
Father  is  not  one  founded  in  the  nature  of  Christ,  or  in 
any  want  on  Christ's  part  of  being  possessed  of  real, 
proper,  and  infinite  divinity ;  but  is  founded  in  his  under- 
taking in  the  work  of  man's  salvation,  according  to  the 
following  inspired  testimony  :  "  Who  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God ;  but 
made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  on  him  the  form 
of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  man."  To 
Jesus  Christ,  in  this  his  stale  of  official  inferiority,  God 
gave  this  blessed  book,  as  the  finishing  part  of  his  holy 
book  of  grace  to  man.  And  Christ  communicated  the 
same  to  his  beloved  disciple  John,  by  a  heavenly  mes- 
senger. 

The  angel  Gabriel  had,  ages  before,  been  sent  from 
God  on  a  similar  message  to  the  prophet  Daniel ;  Dan. 
ix.  21-27.  And  the  prophetic  parts  of  the  Revelation 
may,  in  a  sense,  be  called  a  new  and  enlarged  edition  of 


32  LECTURE    II. 

the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  with  liberty  of  paraphrase ;  es- 
pecially as  it  related  to  events  future  of  the  period  in  which 
John  lived. 

This  Revelation  was  communicated  by  one  who  is 
called  an  angel — a  heavenly  messenger — as  the  term 
here  imports.  A  human  spirit,  sent  from  heaven  on  this 
message,  as  well  answers  to  the  term  angel  here,  as 
would  an  intelligence  of  a  superior  order.  The  term  im- 
ports, one  who  brings  a  message.  "  One  employed  to 
communicate  news,  or  information  from  one  person  to 
another  at  a  distance."  On  which  account,  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  is  called  an  angel  of  his  church;  Rev.  ii.  1. 
The  word  angels,  when  found  in  the  plural,  signifies  (at 
least  usually)  the  superior  order  of  intelligences  in  the 
invisible  world.  But  when  used  in  the  singular  number, 
to  denote  a  bearer  of  tidings  from  heaven,  it  may  mean 
one  from  that  superior  order,  or  one  of  the  glorified  saints. 
Should  one  of  the  latter  be  sent  on  a  divine  mission,  the 
word  angel  would  as  fitly  apply  to  him,  as  to  one  of  the 
superior  order.  For  the  name  imports  simply,  one  sent 
on  a  message :  which  may,  for  aught  we  know,  be  a  glo- 
rified saint. 

Some  have  hence  been  of  opinion,  that  the  messenger 
here  sent  with  the  Apocalypse  to  John,  was  the  prophet 
Daniel.  In  favour  of  it,  they  adduce  what  he  says, 
eh.  xxii.  9,  when  John  (supposing  him  to  have  been 
Christ)  falls  down  to  worship  him,  the  angel  says,  '"  See 
thou  do  it  not  !  for  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy 
brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them  that  keep  the  sayings 
of  this  book  ;  worship  God  !"  They  suppose  we  learn 
from  these  words  that  he  was  one  of  the  prophets; 
and  they  think  none  so  probable  as  Daniel,  the  "  man 
greatly  beloved,"  and  who  had  been  blessed  as  being  in- 
spired to  predict  various  of  the  same  great  events  found 
in  the  Revelation,  and  of  which  the  Revelation  seems  to 
be  an  inspired  commentary.  And  his  keeping  the  sayings 
of  this  book,  may  seem  lo  indicate  such  an  interest  in 
them,  as  one  would  naturally  have  who  had  been  the 
honored  instrument  of  their  being  first  revealed  !  Such 
conceive  that  Daniel  was  sent  from  above  to  give  an  en- 
larged view  of  his  own  former  prophecies.  Moses  and 
Elijah  had  before  been  sent  from  heaven  to  converse  with 
Christ  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration  :  and  Daniel  might 


CHAPTER    I.  63 

be  sent  on  the  present  message.  But  a  belief  or  dis- 
belief of  this  is  of  DO"  great  importance  to  us. 

The  object  of  this  message  is  to  us  of  deep  interest : — 
"  to  shew  unto  his  servants  things  that  must  shortly  come 
to  pass."  Those  the  Saviour  calls  (ver.  19)  "the  things 
which  shall  be  hereafter."  These  must  mean  the  line  of 
events  then  future,  in  whieh  the  people  of  God  would 
have  a  deep  interest.  What  these  things  are,  must  be 
decided  by  the  facts  that  are  revealed  ;  and  not  by  the 
caprice  of  any  man.  None  can  have  a  right  to  say,  they 
must  mean  only  several  great  events ;  as  the  overturning 
of  the  Jews,  and  of  Roman  paganism!  These  events  no 
doubt  are  given ;  but  by  no  means  exclusively.  Many  other 
things  then  future,  would  be  found  to  be  of  no  less  interest 
to  the  church,  and  equally  entitled  to  consideration.  Human 
wisdom  must  here  be  exercised,  and  yet  only  in  humble 
reliance  on  divine ;  "  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spi- 
ritual." No  doubt  the  great  course  of  events,  concerning 
the  church,  in  which  she  would  have  a  special  interest 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world,  will  be  found  to  be  included 
in  the  "  things  that  must  shortly  come  to  pass,"  and  "  the 
things  which  shall  be  hereafter." 

This  history  of  events  (if  it  may  be  so  called)  before- 
hand declared,  and  given  in  language  deeply  figurative, 
must  be  construed  by  pious  and  sound  discretion,  taking 
into  view  the  language  of  prophecy,  and  the  analogy  of 
things.  The  chief  object  of  the  Revelation  is,  not  to  re- 
veal things  done  in  heaven,  but  things  done  on  earth; 
and  this  information  is  to  be  most  piously,  gratefully,  and 
obediently  received. 

Ver.  3.  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that 
hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those 
things  which  are  written  therein :  for  the  time  is  at 
hand. 

We  have  here  the  duty  and  encouragement  of  this 
study ;  and  the  rich  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  due  and 
pious  attention  to  this  book.  The  remotest  events  to 
occur  on  earth,  might  be  said  to  be  at  hand,  at  the  period 
in  our  text;  such  is  the  shortness  of  time,  compared  with 
eternity.  And  the  phrase  implies  that  the  events  are  to 
be  studied,  and  kept  in  mind,  while  yet  futiu-e. 


34  LECTURE   II. 

Ver.  4.  JOHN  to  the  seven  churches  which  are 
in  Asia :  Grace  he  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  him 
which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come ; 
and  from  the  seven  spirits  which  are  before  his 
throne. 

5.  And  from  Jesus  Christ,  ivho  is  the  faithful  wit- 
ness, and  the  first-begotten  of  the  dead,  and  the 
prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  Unto  him  that 
loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood, 

6.  And  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God 
and  his  Father ;  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for 
ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

Seven  messages  were  to  be  sent  from  the  mouth  of 
Christ  to  the  seven  churches  then  in  Asia  Minor.  These 
messages  were  not  prophetic,  as  some  have  imagined ; 
but  simply  admonitory.  They,  as  such,  are  full  of  in- 
struction to  the  people  of  God  in  all  ages.  What  is  said 
here  of  God  the  Father,  that  he  "  is,  and  was,  and  is  to 
come^''  is  an  essential  glory  of  real  and  underived  divinity. 
We  have  in  this  phrase  the  eternity  of  God,  as  in  the 
following:  "Thus  saith  the  High  and  Lofty  One,  who 
inhabiteth  eternity."  Let  this  be  remembered,  when  we 
shall  by-and-by  find  the  same  attribute  of  underived  divin- 
ity taken  by  Jesus  Christ  to  himself. 

The  seven  Spirits  in  the  text,  denote  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
his  various  gifts  and  graces  furnished  to  men.  "  There 
are  diversities  of  gifts  ;  but  the  same  Spirit."  In  the  text 
we  have  three  in  the  Godhead  expressed  ; — "  from  him 
that  is,  and  was,  and  is  to  come ;  and  from  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  from  the  seven  Spirits" — "  three  are  thus  given  that 
bear  record  in  heaven !"  Grace  and  peace  to  man  are 
from  these  three  united  in  one  God  !  "  which  three  are 
one  !  Most  clearly  is  this  prime  article  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  here  established.  The  flowing  of  grace  and 
peace  from  Heaven  is  only  by  Christ,  the  true  witness  to 
the  law,  government,  and  mercy  of  the  Godhead ; — who 
died  to  redeem ;  and  is  the  resurrection  from  the  dead  ; 
the  King  of  kings  ;  Head  over  all  things  to  the  church, 
whom  he  makes  kings  and  priests  unto  God  ;  to  whom 
be  glory  and  dominion  (says  the  text),  for  ever  and  ever. 
The  saints  are  made  kings,  as  having  grace  to  govern 


CHAPTER   I.  35 

themselves ;  as  having  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  gov- 
ernment of  the  world  ;  and  as  being  heirs  of  the  crown  of 
glory  in  heaven.  And  they  are  made  priests,  as  having  a 
full  interest  in  Christ's  priestly  office  ;  and  as  being  them- 
selves prepared  by  Divine  grace,  to  offer  unto  God  holy, 
spiritual  sacrifices  and  services,  acceptable  to  God  by 
Jesus  Christ.  In  these,  they  praise  their  Almighty  Sa- 
viour for  their  redemption,  and  their  title  to  the  heavenly 
glory. 

Ver.  7.  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds  ;  and  every 
eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced  him : 
and  all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  o 
him.    Even  so,  Amen. 

The  scene  here  hinted  is  one  well  known  in  the  sacred 
oracles  ; — the  coming  of  Christ  to  judge  the  world.  Christ 
in  humanity  is  the  judge  of  the  world.  "  When  the  Son 
of  man  shall  appear  in  his  glory,  then  shall  he  sit  upon 
the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  before  him  shall  be  gathered 
all  nations." — To  learn  who  this  judge  of  the  world  is, 
see  Psalm  1.  1.  "The  mighty  God,  even  the  Lord,  hath 
spoken,  and  called  the  earth  from  the  risinor  of  the  sun  unto 
the  going  down  of  the  same.  Out  of  Zion,  the  perfec- 
tion of  beauty,  God  hath  sbined.  Our  God  shall  come 
— I  am  God,  even  thy  God !"  Verily,  then,  Christ  is 
God.  And  he  will  thus  come.  "  Unto  you  that  look  for 
him,  shall  he  appear  a  second  time  without  sin,  unto  sal- 
vation." His  coming  in  the  flesh  was  his  first  coming. 
And  his  literal  appearance,  in  our  text,  is  his  second  com- 
ing. This  is  said  to  be  "  in  clouds  !"  the  true  sense  of 
which,  the  event  will  unfold.  It  seems  he  will  be  at- 
tended with  clouds  of  fire ;  clouds  of  angels ;  clouds  of 
all  the  saints ;  and  (for  aught  we  know)  clouds  of  the 
unknown  legions  of  intelligences  in  the  universe.  And 
what  clouds  of  overwhelming  splendor  will  attend,  none 
can  now  conceive.  All  then  will  literally  behold  Christ, 
the  infinite  Judge ! — Pilate,  Herod,  Caiaphas,  all  the 
Jewish  rulers,  all  who  have  persecuted  him  in  his  per- 
son, or  in  his  people,  or  pierced  him  by  their  sins.  All 
the  multitudes  of  the  papal,  and  infidel  Antichrist ;  of  Mo- 
hammedans ;  of  the  world  of  rejecters  of  his  salvation  ; 
— the  final  Gog  and  Magog,  going  upon  the  breadth  of 


36  LECTURE    II. 

the  earth  to  destroy  the  church  of  God  ;  all  shall  see  him; 
and  all  destitute  of  his  salvation  shall  wail  in  eternal 
horror !  While  the  saints  hail  their  heavenly  Bridegroom 
with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory. 

The  Bible  furnishes  several  mystical  comings  of  Christ 
which  were  to  be  antecedent  to  the  last  and  literal  coming 
just  noted — as,  his  coming  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem ;  in  the  revolution  in  Rome  from  paganism  to  Chris- 
tianity ;  his  coming  in  the  reformation  ;  and  especially  his 
coming  in  the  battle  of  the  great  day  just  before  the  Mil- 
lennium ;  and  in  the  introduction  of  that  event.  And  the 
coming  of  Christ  in  signal  judgment  is  noted  as  being  in 
clouds.  "Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  hnn." 
Christ's  coming  in  the  battle  of  the  great  day,  in  Rev.  xiv. 
is  noted  as  being  on  a  white  cloud.  And  the  antichris- 
tian  nations  shall  then  see  him,  and  shall  wail. 

Ver.  8.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and 
the  ending,  saith  the  Lord,  which  is,  and  which  was, 
and  which  is  to  come,  the  Almighty. 

We  have  here  again  the  real  and  infinite  Divinity  of 
Christ  asserted  from  his  own  mouth,  and  placed  beyond  all 
doubt.  The  person  in  the  Godhead  who  here  speaks,  is 
the  same  that  cometh  in  clouds,  and  whom  every  eye 
shall  see,  in  the  antecedent  verse  ;  and  that  is  Christ ;  and 
he  here  adds,  that  he  is  "  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning 
and  the  ending,  the  Lord,  who  is,  and  was,  and  is  to  come, 
the  Almighty."  This  is  the  same  divinity  which  the 
Father  claims  for  himself,  in  verse  4th,  but  given  here  whh 
additional  testimonies.  Alpha  is  the  first,  and  Omega  is 
the  last  letter  in  the  Greek  alphabet,  in  which  language 
the  New  Testament  was  first  written :  which  led  the  Sa- 
viour to  add,  in  another  text,  "  the  first  and  the  last !" 
These  and  the  words  "who  is,  and  was,  and  is  to 
come,  the  Almighty,"  testify  with  complicated  and  une- 
quivocal assertions,  that  Christ  is  the  very  God ! 

Ver.  9.  I,  John,  who  also  am  your  brother,  and 
companion  in  tribulation,  and  in  the  kingdom  and 
patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  in  the  isle  that  is 
called  Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  tes- 
timony of  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER    I.  37 

This  beloved  disciple  would  thus  be  known  to  all  the 
people  of  God,  as  their  companion  and  brother  in  the  la- 
bours and  perils  of  the  gospel.  He  was  then  suffering  as 
an  exile  in  the  desolate  island  of  Patmos,  in  the  ^gean 
Sea,  to  which  he  had  been  banished  by  a  Roman  emperor 
for  his  Christian  faith ;  and  Christ  here  conferred  upon 
him  the  signal  honour  of  this,  vision.  The  Most  High 
says,  "  They  that  honour  me,  I  v/ill  honour."  No  pagan 
emperor  was  ever  blessed  vv'ith  honours  in  any  degree  com- 
parable to  the  honour  now  given  to  this  preacher  of  Christ. 
Persecuting  tyrants  may  doom  to  infamy  the  clearest 
people  of  God  ;  but  he  that  sits  in  heaven  can  commute 
the  sentence,  and  make  its  fulfilment  a  scene  of  true 
glory.  Such  is  the  economy  of  heaven.  Who  then 
would  not  choose  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of 
God,  rather  than  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season  ? 

Ver.  10.  I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  and 
heard  behind  me  a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet. 

The  Christian  Sabbath  is  here  called  the  Lord's  Day, 
as  the  holy  Eucharist  is  called  the  Lord's  Supper.  The 
Sabbath  is  so  called,  because  that  on  its  morning,  our  Lord 
burst  the  bands  of  death,  and  finished  the  provision  made 
for  the  salvation  of  lost  man.  The  first  day  of  the  week, 
on  the  morning  of  which  our  Saviour  arose,  was  hence- 
forth adopted  as  the  holy  Sabbath,  instead  of  the  seventh 
day,  as  before.  This  was  thenceforth  to  be  celebrated  in 
special  commemoration  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  the 
chief  corner-stone  of  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth ;  as 
well  as  in  commemoration  of  his  creation  of  the  world ; 
it  was  likewise  to  be  a  day  for  special  improvement  of  the 
ordinances  of  grace. 

Relative  to  this  change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh 
to  the  first  day  of  the  week  ; — the  prophet  Isaiah,  predict- 
ing the  mission  of  Christ  on  earth,  as  a  rod  from  the  stem 
of  Jesse  (Isa.  xi.),  says,  "His  rest  shall  be  glorious:" 
In  the  Hebrew  original  it  is,  "  His  Sabbath  shall  be  glori- 
ous :"  Christ  then  should  have  a  special,  and  a  glorious 
Sabbath.  The  Psalmist,  predicting  the  rejection  of  Christ, 
and  his  yet  becoming  the  head  of  the  corner,  as  he  did  in- 
deed by  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  says,  "  This  is  the 
day  which  the  Lord  hath  made ;  we  will  be  glad  and  re- 
D 


88  LECTURE  11. 

joiceinit."  (Psalm  cxviii.)  These  prophecies, it  is  thought, 
give  the  change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  day  o-f 
the  week,  as  kept  by  the  Jews,  to  the  first  day  to  be  kept 
by  Christians.  Accordingly, our  Lord  made  special  visits 
to  iiis  disciples,  after  his  resurrection,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week.  See  Joiin  xx.  19-29,  where  the  first  day  of 
the  week  is  repeatedly  noted  as  the  time  of  the  gracious 
visits  of  Christ  to  his  disciples,  as  well  as  the  day  of  their 
convocations  for  his  worship.  Paul  at  Troas  waited  some 
time  for  the  arrival  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when 
Christians  would  convene,  that  he  might  preach  to  them. 
And  to  the  Corinthians,  Paul  gave  directions  for  their  per- 
formance of  their  charities  and  pious  donations  on  that 
holy  day.  These,  together  with  the  testimony  in  our 
text,  of  John's  being  in  the  Spirit  on  this  day,  and  having 
on  this  day  his  Revelation,  afford  ample  testimony  to  the 
Divinity  of  the  change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to 
the  first  day  of  the  week.  The  example  of  the  inspired 
apostles  is  equal  to  a  command  of  God.  And  when  we 
add  to  these  arguments,  the  considerations  that  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  on  the  day  following  the  Jewish  seventh- 
day  Sabbath,  or  was  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  answer- 
ing to  the  Christian  Sabbath  ;  as  was  also  the  ancient 
Jubilee  ;  the  arguments  in  favour  of  this  change  of  the  Sab- 
bath are  most  complete.  On  this  day  was  changed  the 
dispensation  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  from  the  Mosaic 
to  the  Christian  ;  when  the  Holy  Ghost  came  like  a  rush- 
ing mighty  wind,  and  three  thousand  were  converted  to 
Christ.  And  this  first  day  of  the  week  gives  the  true  an- 
tetype  of  the  ancient  Jubilee  trumpet,  proclaiming  liberty 
and  salvation  !  On  this  holy  day,  John  was  in  the  Spirit. 
If  Christians  now  better  imitated  him  in  this,  they 
would,  no  doubt,  have  more  and  richer  interviews  with 
Heaven.  The  apostle  in  our  text  being  thus  engaged, 
heard  behind  him  a  loud  commanding  voice ; — 

Ver.  11.  Saying,  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first 
and  the  last :  and,  what  thou  seest  write  in  a  book, 
and  send  it  unto  the  seven  churches  which  are  in 
Asia  ;  unto  Ephesus,  and  unto  Smyrna,  and  unto  Per- 
gamos,  and  unto  Thyatira,  and  unto  Sardis,  and  unto 
Philadelphia,  and  unto  Laodicea. 


CHAPTER  I.  3^ 

Again  Christ  asserts  his  underived  Divinity;  and  then 
orders  that  the  vision  should  be  commilted  to  writing,  and 
sent  to  the  seven  churches  in  Asia,  which  he  names. 

Ver.  12.  And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice  that  spake 
with  me.  And  being  turned,  I  saw  seven  golden 
candlesticks : 

13.  And  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks 
one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  clothed  with  a  garment 
down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps  with  a 
golden  girdle. 

14.  His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like  wool, 
as  white  as  snow  ;  and  his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of 
fire  ; 

15.  And  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they 
burned  in  a  furnace ;  and  his  voice  as  the  sound  of 
many  waters. 

16.  And  he  had  in  his  right  hand  seven  stars  ;  and 
out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp  two-edged  sword : 
and  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his 
strength. 

On  turning  to  see  who  thus  addressed  him,  his  eyes 
fastened  on  the  glorious  Mediator  Immanuel,  God  mani- 
fest in  the  flesli,  whom  John  beheld  in  vision  as  de- 
scended from  heaven,  and  standing  near  him  in  an  attitude 
and  appearance  which  well-nigh  drank  up  his  spirits. 
How  changed  now  was  the  Saviour  from  what  he  was 
when  John  had  been  conversant  with  him,  in  the  days  of 
his  humiliation  !  in  his  agonies  in  the  garden  !  and  on 
the  cross  !  and  when  John  had  often  leaned  on  his  bosom. 
The  golden  candlestick  in  tJie  ancient  temple  seemed  to 
stand  here  before  Christ,  which  gave  him  the  appear- 
ance of  standing  in  the  midst  of  those  seven  branches  of 
the  one  candlestick,  as  the  Jewish  high-priest  was  wont 
to  stand,  to  dress  the  seven  lamps.  This  candlestick 
was  of  pure  beaten  gold,  to  assure  us  of  the  purity  of  all 
the  true  people  of  God.  The  branches  were  seven,  to 
indicate  the  many  particular  churches  of  Christ.  They 
all  united  in  one  foot,  to  assure  us  that  all  true  churches 
unite  in  Christ,  and  are  supported  by  him.  The  position 
aiid  dress  of  Christ  seem    to  have  some   allusion  to  the 


40  LECTURE    II. 

Style  of  the  Jewish  high-priest,  when  seen  in  the  temple 
in  his  official  habiliments. 

It  is  thought  this  dress  and  appearance  of  Christ,  are  to 
be  viewed  as  emblematical  of  things  like  the  following: — 
His  flowing  outer  garment  down  to  his  feet,  reminds  of 
his  mediatorial  righteousness,  furnished  for  the  salvation 
of  his  people,  even  the  vilest.  His  golden  girdle  round 
the  breast,  tells  us  of  his  faithfulness,  and  of  the  tender- 
ness of  his  heart ;  that  his  people  are  set  as  a  seal  on 
his  arm  and  heart,  with  love  which  many  waters  cannot 
quench,  nor  floods  drown.  The  intense  whiteness  of  his  hair 
denotes  his  eternity,  and  infinite  venerableness.  His  eyes 
being  as  a  flame  of  fire,  reminds  of  his  omniscience,  and 
the  piercing  attention  he  pays  to  every  thing.  His  feet 
being  like  burning  brass,  and  as  though  they  glowed  in  a 
furnace,  denotes  the  holiness  of  all  his  ways  ;  the  excel- 
lence and  majesty  of  all  his  dispensations.  The  sound- 
ing of  his  voice  as  the  roaring  of  an  ocean  in  a  tempest, 
denotes  the  various  alarming  events  of  his  holy  providence 
against  his  enemies.  The  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand, 
denote  his  ambassadors,  who  are  ever  held  and  supported 
by  his  grace  !  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world."  The  sharp  sword  from  his  mouth  is 
an  emblem  of  the  keen  power  of  his  word,  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sw^ord,  to  save,  or  to  destroy.  And  his 
countenance  shining  as  the  sun,  is  a  most  fit  emblem  of 
his  infinite  majesty. 

Here,  Ciirislians,  is  the  Being,  "  whom  having  ^^^  seen 
ye  love  :  in  whom  though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believ- 
ing ;  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable."  This  is  the  Per- 
sonage, sinners,  who  assures  you,  "Behold,  I  stand  at 
the  door  and  knock !"  This  is  he  of  whom  saints  glory, 
when  they  exclaim  :  "  This  is  my  Beloved,  and  this  is  my 
Friend,  O  daughters  of  Jerusalem." 

Ver.  17.  And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as 
dead.  And  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying 
unto  me,  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last : 

18.  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead  ;  and  behold, 
I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen ;  and  have  the  keys 
of  hell  and  of  death. 

Man,  being   but  dust   and  ashes,  cannot,  in  this  his 


CHAPTER   I.  41 

mortal  state,  see  God's  face  and  live.  It  is,  then,  in  mercy 
to  man,  that  "  he  holdeth  back  the  face  of  his  throne,  and 
spreadeth  his  cloud  upon  it."  Our  Lord,  in  this  his  bright 
manifestation  of  himself  to  John,  no  doubt  veiled  much  of 
his  glory  ;  a  full  view  of  which  would  instantly  have  ex- 
tinguished his  animal  life.  But  such  was  the  view  of 
glory  given,  that  the  beloved  disciple  fell  at  his  feet  as 
dead  !  But  Christ  kindly  laid  his  hand  upon  him,  furnish- 
ing him  with  strength,  as  he  had  done  to  the  beloved 
Daniel,  ages  before,  who,  on  a  similar  occasion,  was  sink- 
ing at  his  feet,  overwhelmed  with  his  glory.  {Dan.  x. 
8-12.)  Most  kind  was  his  address  :  "  Fear  not !  I  am 
the  first,  and  the  last.  I  am  he  that  livetli,  and  was  dead, 
and  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen  :  and  have  the  kevs  of 
hell  and  of  death."  Here  again,  from  his  own  mouth,  we 
learn  that  he  is  God  !  and  is  the  only  way  to  heaven  : 
and  sovereign  of  heaven  and  of  hell ; — to  receive  to  the 
one,  and  to  banish  to  the  other,  whom  he  will.  Such  is 
he  who  tenders  salvation  to  man. 

Ver.  19.  Write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen, 
and  the  things  which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall 
be  hereafter  ; 

The  Apocalypse  has  a  number  of  grand  divisions,  as 
will  be  seen,  each  in  its  place.  Here  is  one  of  interest. 
(1.)  "The  things  which  thou  hast  seen,"  are  this  intro- 
duction of  the  book,  in  chapter  first.  (2.)  "The  things 
which  are,"  consist  of  the  seven  epistles  to  the  seven 
churches,  which  follow  in  chapters  second  and  third.  (3.) 
"The  things  which  shall  be  hereafter;"  all  the  events 
then  future,  which  shall  be  found  contained  in  the  book. 
The  great  events  of  salvation  to  the  church,  and  of  de- 
struction to  her  enemies,  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  which  the  Spirit  would  unfold  in  courses  of  events 
exhibited  in  the  figurative  language  of  this  book. 

Ver.  20.  The  niystery  of  the  seven  stars  which 
thou  sawest  in  nay  right  hand,  and  the  seven  golden 
candlesticks.  The  seven  stars  are  the  angels  of  the 
seven  churches :  and  the  seven  candlesticks  which 
thou  sawest  are  the  seven  churches. 
D2 


42  LECTURE    II. 

An  infallible  interpretation  is  here  given  of  the  ancient 
golden  candlestick  in  the  temple,  with  its  seven  branches  ; 
and  of  its  light  on  the  summit  of  each  branch.  That 
rich  emblem  is  here  applied,  by  Christ  himself,  to  the 
seven  churches  then  in  Asia;  each  branch  is  a  church; 
and  its  light,  called  a  star,  an  emblem  of  the  gospel  minis- 
try in  that  branch.  And  thus  the  candlestick,  with  its 
lights,  was  a  symbol  of  all  the  churches,  with  their  pas- 
tors, to  the  end  of  the  world.  This,  Christ  notes  as  a 
mystery ;  or  as  a  thing  denoted  by  figure.  The  candle- 
stick was  a  type  of  all  the  visible  churches  of  Christ. 
Its  seven  branches  denoted  their  many  branches.  But 
all  are  one  in  Christ.  Christ  is  in  the  midst  of  his 
churches,  as  he  seemed  to  stand  in  the  midst  of  the 
branches  of  the  candlestick.  The  thought  and  assurance 
of  this  presence  of  Christ  in  his  churches,  are  most  ani- 
mating, and  full  of  salvation.  "  Zion  behold  thy  Saviour 
King! — He  reigns  and  triumphs  here  !"  The  church  is 
the  pillar  and  ground  of  the  truth,  as  the  means  of  up- 
holding the  ambassadors  of  Christ ;  and  the  order  of  his 
truth  and  grace.  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world." 
Ministers  and  churches  find  here  their  strength  and  right- 
eousness ; — their  Saviour  and  their  God.  Christ  says  to 
them,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also."  And  they 
triumph  and  rejoice,  "  I  live  ;  yet  not  I ;  but  Christ  liveth 
in  me."  "  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  who  strength- 
eneth  me."  "And  the  life  that  1  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live 
by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God." 

The  thought  is,  by  the  emblem  and  the  unity  of  the 
candlestick,  deeply  impressed,  that  all  the  saints  are  one 
in  Christ.  All  want  of  love  and  union,  then,  is  vile,  and 
utterly  unworthy  of  the  saints. 

All  true  ministers  of  Christ  shine  with  light  derived 
only  from  him.  "  In  thy  light  shall  we  see  light."  The 
churches  must  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bonds  of 
peace.  They  first  are  pure  ;  then  peaceable.  "  Blessed 
are  the  peacemakers  ;  for  they  shall  be  called  the  children 
of  God." 

The  candlestick  was  formed  of  purest  gold.  The 
almost  Christian,  then,  is  but  a  blot.  He  has  no  part  nor 
lot  in  this  bright  emblem.  "  The  hope  of  the  hypocrite 
shall  perish."  Nothing  short  of  tlie  correct  and  pure 
Christian  faith,  heart,  and  life,  can  answer  to  the  pure  gold 


CHAPTER   I.  43 

of  the  candlestick !  This  is  a  new  heart,  created  in 
Christ  unto  good  works.  Without  this  holiness,  no  man 
can  see  the  Lord.  And  all  is  not  gold  that  glitters.  Coun- 
terfeit graces  abound.  "Five  of  them  were  wise,  and 
'five  were  foolish."  With  holy  fear  and  trembling,  then, 
let  each  professor  say,  "  Lord,  is  it  I  ?"  "  Search  me,  O 
Lord,  and  prove  me  !  try  my  reins  and  my  heart !" 
"  Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me  !"     Form  Christ  in  me  the  hope  of  glory  ! 

Think,  Christian,  of  the  glory  and  dignity  of  your 
Saviour  and  Lord,  always  present !  Dwell  on  his  charac- 
ter, as  here  given,  till  your  whole  soul  is  transformed  to 
love  and  admiration  ;  and  till  you  can  constantly  breathe 
out  the  confident  address,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things  ; 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Then,  Christian,  live  the 
life  of  holy  faith  ;  the  happy  life  of  looking  unto  Jesus  ! 
Then  will  his  love  refine  your  soul.  Then  will  you  find 
rich  mines  of  consolation  ;  rich  and  most  glorious  in  your 
heavenly  Bridegroom,  for  ever  present  and  prepared  to 
save  !  He  is  thy  God,  and  worship  thou  him.  Here  is 
our  atonement,  our  righteousness,  our  life,  and  our  salva- 
tion. We  will  behold  his  flowing  mantle  ;  his  girdle  of 
love  ;  his  white  and  infinite  venerableness ;  his  flaming 
eye  ;  the  holy  footsteps  of  his  burning  feet ;  the  two- 
edged  sword  of  his  mouth  ;  his  countenance  brighter  than 
the  sun  !  We  will  not  fail  to  listen  to  the  sound  of  his 
providences,  as  the  roar  of  a  thundering  ocean  !  And 
we  will  lie  prostrate  at  his  feet,  imploring  his  life-giving- 
right  hand  kindly  to  be  laid  upon  us  !  We  will  ever  prize 
and  implore  his  kind,  life-giving  whisper,  It  is  I ;  be  not 
afraid.  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was  dead.  And  because 
I  live,  ye  shall  live  also.  We  will  follow  him,  till  we 
come  where  he  is ;  to  behold  his  face  in  righteousness ; 
and  to  be  satisfied  awaking  in  his  likeness  and  glory ! 


LECTURE    III. 


REVELATION    II. 

Ver.  1.  Unto  the  angel  of  the  church  of  Ephesus 
write ;  these  things  saith  he  that  holdeth  the  seven 
stars  in  his  right  hand,  who  walketh  in  the  midst  of 
the  seven  golden  candlesticks. 

Ephesus  was  the  metropolis  of  Lydia  in  Asia.  A  church 
was  here  early  collected :  and  with  this  church  Christ 
commences  his  epistles  to  the  seven  churches.  Each 
epistle  is  directed  to  the  angel  of  that  church.  In  this 
term,  probably,  were  included  whatever  teaching  elders 
there  might  be  in  that  church.  Some  suppose  the  pastor 
or  pastors  of  each  church  were  all  that  is  meant  by  the 
angel  of  that  church.  Others  suppose  it  meant,  espe- 
cially, a  person  who  was  a  moderator  or  president  of  a 
consociation  of  the  particular  churches  found  in  each  city 
named.  We  read,  Acts  xx.  17,  of  elders  in  the  church  of 
Ephesus.  And  we  are  informed  that  the  apostles,  and 
others  ordained  by  them,  "  ordained  elders  in  every  city." 
Those  first  churches  were  wont  to  have  a  plurality  of 
elders  in  each  church.  And  we  learn,  in  church  history, 
that  in  the  first  Christian  ages,  contiguous  churches  were 
led  to  form  themselves  into  a  kind  of  consociation,  for 
their  mutual  benefit ;  each  consociation  having  a  standing 
moderator ;  which  moderator  might  be  the  person  denoted 
by  the  angel  of  that  church.  Whether  this  were  the  case  ; 
or  whether  this  angel  means  the  eldership  of  that  church, 
meaning  to  include  all  its  officers,  is  not  essential.* 

*  Mosheim  says,  "It  is  highly  probable  that  the  church  of  Jeru- 
salem, grown  numerous,  and  deprived  of  the  ministry  of  the  apostles, 
was  the  tirst  that  chose  a  president.  And  it  is  no  less  probable  that 
the  other  churches  followed  so  respectable  an  example."  Of  these 
presidents,  or  ancient  bishops,  he  says  (relative  to  their  ditference 
from  modern  bishops)  "they  had  not  pov/er  to  decide  or  to  enact  any 
thing  without  the  consent  of  the  presbyters  (common  pastors)  and 
the  people."    Scott  speaks  of  them  as  moderators,  or  censors,  elected 


CHAPTER    II.  45 

Jesus  Christ,  in  each  address,  gives  a  descripiion  of 
himself  from  some  of  his  notable  characteristics  exhibited 
in  the  first  chapter  of  this  book,  and  in  different  sacred 
Scriptures.  And  there  seems  to  be  some  affinity  between 
the  trait  of  character  thus  selected,  and  the  slate  or  charac- 
ter of  that  church.  It  appears  to  have  been  selected  for 
their  admonition,  or  their  consolation,  as  their  case  required. 

To  the  Ephesian  church,  the  address  is  thus  given  : 
from  him  "  who  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand ; 
and  walketh  in  the  midst  of  his  seven  golden  candlesticks." 
Blessed  indeed  is  Zion,  that  her  Saviour  and  Lord  walks 
in  the  midst  of  his  churches,  by  his  word,  ambassadors, 
and  ordinances,  by  his  spirit  of  grace,  and  his  government 
of  all  things.  In  these,  he  is  a  wall  of  fire  round  about, 
and  a  glory  in  the  midst  of  her.  And  Christ's  true  minis- 
ters are  assured,  that  they  rest  in  the  right  hand  of  their 
Lord  and  Master.  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  always."  "My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  !" 

Ver.  2.  I  know  thy  works,  and  thy  labour,  and  thy 
patience,  and  how  thou  canst  not  bear  them  which 
are  evil :  and  thou  hast  tried  them  which  say  they 
are  apostles,  and  are  not,  and  hast  found  them  liars. 

3.  And  hast  borne,  and  hast  patience,  and  for  my 
name's  sake  hast  laboured,  and  hast  not  fainted. 

Their  good  deeds,  the  Saviour  first  notes,  to  their  praise. 
They  had  laboured  in  duty  ;  they  had  patiently  endured 
trials ;  they  had  detected  and  abhorred  evil  doers ;  they 
had  examined   and    exposed   false  teachers.     Paul   had 

at  the  discretion  of  the  churches,  and  probably  (he  thinks)  wilh  the 
countenance  of  the  apostles  ;  but  that  they  possessed  no  official 
superiority  to  other  teaching  elders.  Jerome,  afterwards  when 
some  of  these  bishops  were  struggling  to  be  viewed  as  of  a  superior 
order,  opposed  them,  and  said,  "  Let  therefore  the  presbyters  (com- 
mon pastors)  know,  that  as  by  the  custom  of  the  churches  they  are 
subject  to  him  who  is  their  president;  so  let  the  bishops  (these 
standing  presidents)  know  that  they  are  above  presbyters  more  by 
the  custom  of  the  church,  than  by  any  tr«e  dispensation  of  Christ." 
This  order  of  ministers  thus  arose  only  by  human  discretion  and 
custom,  and  were  only  first  among  equals  in  office.  Each  city  of 
note  seems  to  have  had  such  a  president,  or  bishop  of  the  churches 
in  that  city  and  vicinity.  And  this  migJit  have  been  the  angel 
mentioned  in  the  address  of  each  epistle. 


46  LECTURE    III. 

warned  that  church,  (Acts  xx.  29,  30,)  "  For  I  know  that 
after  my  departure,  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among 
you,  not  sparing  the  flock:  also  of  your  own  selves  shall 
men  arise  speaking  perverse  things  to  draw  away  disci- 
ples after  them."  So  it  had  taken  place.  These  impostors 
(as  all  false  teachers  do)  pretended  they  were  sent  of  God. 
This  church  had  tried  those  false  apostles  by  the  word  of 
God,  and  condemned  them  as  liars.  And  this  their  faith- 
fuhiess  Christ  especially  notes  and  approves  ;  and  this 
testimony  he  leaves  for  the  benefit  of  all,  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  And  the  good  deeds  of  this  church,  the  Saviour 
repeats  : — their  patience,  their  labours  for  his  sake  ;  and 
their  perseverance !  Few  perhaps  are  the  churches,  at 
this  period,  concerning  whom  so  much  good  can  be  said ! 
Much  reason  then,  have  many  to  tremble,  when  they 
peruse  the  following  : — 

Ver.  4.  Nevertheless,  I  have  somewhat  against 
thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love. 

5.  Remember  therefore  from  whence  thou  art 
fallen,  and  repent,  and  do  the  first  works ;  or  else  1 
will  come  unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  remove  thy 
candlestick  out  of  his  place,  except  thou  repent. 

They  had  suffered  the  pious  fervour  of  their  first  gracious 
affections  to  abate.  In  this,  they  had  been  guilty  of  crimi- 
nal inattention  and  ingratitude.  A  speedy  repentance  of 
this  sill  was  demanded  ; — to  love  as  they  had  first  loved  ; 
or  Christ  would  soon  visit  them,  and  dispossess  them  of 
their  church  blessings. 

This  awful  judgment  was,  in  after  days,  executed  upon 
them. 

Too  many  have  left  their  first  love ;  while  the  love  of 
the  world  has  taken  its  place  !  Such  have  reason  to  be 
deeply  affected  with  this  warning  of  the  glorious  Head  of 
the  church. 

Ver.  G.  But  this  thou  hast, that  thou  hatestthe  deeds 
of  the  Nicolaitans,  which  1  also  hate. 

The  Nicolaitans  were  a  sect  of  Antinomians  who,  under 
the  notion  of  Christian  liberty,  pleaded  for  a  licentious  com-, 
munity  of  wives.     Such  a  hateful  sect  existed,  and  were 


CHAPTER    II.  47 

here,  by  the  head  of  the  church,  condemned.  And  tlie 
Ephesian  church  had  deah  faithfully  with  these  licentious 
liypocrites  :  and  probably,  had  cleansed  their  community 
from  them.  And  this  faithfulness,  Christ  publicly  approves 
for  the  benefit  of  all  his  churches,  from  that  period. 

Tradition  has  branded  Nicholas,  one  of  the  seven  dea- 
cons, as  the  infamous  leader  of  this  sect.  It  seems  probable 
that  this  is  incorrect,  and  very  injurious.  Those  seven 
deacons  were  said  to  have  been  "full  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Could  one  of  them,  then,  be  guilty  of  such  enormity  1  No 
doubt  there  were  different  men  of  this  name.  It  does  not 
follow  that  because  one  by  the  name  of  Nicholas,  led  in 
this  error,  it  hence  must  be  this  pious  deacon.  This  is  not 
to  be  admitted  without  positive  proof. 

Ver.  7.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches :  To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is 
in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God. 

This  is  connected  with  the  address  of  the  Ephesian 
church  :  yet  it  is  "  wliat  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches.^'' 
It  is  equally  applicable  to  all  of  similar  character,  in  all 
ages;  and  it  is  most  unhappy  that  so  many  who  have 
ears,  pay  so  little  attention  to  what  the  Spirit  of  God  urges 
here  upon  them.  This  conduct  will  one  day  "  bite  like  a 
serpent,  and  sting  like  an  adder."  Let  us  hear ;  and  so 
hear,  that  our  souls  may  live  !  Can  as  much  be  said  in  fa- 
vour of  all  our  churches,  as  was  said  in  favour  of  the  church 
of  Ephesus  ?  But  they  had  suffered  the  fervour  of  their 
first  love  to  abate  !  The  command  to  those  who  have  once 
loved,  is,  "Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God." — "Abound 
therein  more  and  more." — "  Grow  in  grace,  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord." — Confidence  that  we  once  loved 
God,  with  present  contentment  without  it,  is  not  the  way 
to  overcome,  but  to  sink  in  despair ! 

The  motive  to  overcome  here  is  powerful.  Such  shall 
feed  upon  the  antitype  of  the  tree  of  life.  Adam  in  the 
garden  of  Paradise  (we  are  led  to  believe)  was,  at  the 
close  of  his  term  of  trial,  to  "  put  forth  his  hand,  and  eat 
of  the  tree  of  life,  and  live  for  ever."  This  act  was  to 
have  been  the  sealing  of  his  active  personal  righteousness, 
as  his  legal  title  to  an  eternal  confirmation  in  holiness  and 


48  LECTURE    III. 

bliss,  alluding  to  which  order,  our  text  assures  us,  that 
all  who  overcome  shall  find,  at  the  close  of  their  season 
of  trial,  something  in  their  second  Adam  well  answering 
to  this  Jesus  Christ, — "  the  Lord  our  righteousness," — 
"  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that 
believeth," — vvill  be  to  them  the  tree  of  life  indeed,  to  fix 
them  in  eternal  holiness  and  bhss. 

Ver.  8.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in 
Smyrna  write  ;  These  things  saith  the  first  and  the 
last,  which  was  dead,  and  is  alive; 

Smyrna  was  a  large  city  in  Asia  Minor.  The  gospel 
was  early  preached  here  with  success  ;  and  a  church  was 
here  found  which  entirely  escaped  censure ;  and  which 
received  much  commendation.  The  trait  of  Christ's  char- 
acter selected  for  them,  therefore,  is  his  eternal  Divinity, 
and  his  death,  and  resurrection ;  essential  glories  in  the 
Christian  salvation ;  "  God  was  manifest  in  the  Hesh ;" 
"  Who  was  delivered  for  our  offences,  and  raised  again 
for  our  justification." 

Ver.  9.  I  know  thy  works,  and  tribulation,  and 
poverty  (but  thou  art  rich),  and  /  know  the  blas- 
phemy of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are 
not,  but  are  the  synagogue  of  Satan. 

They  had  a  severe  lot  in  the  early  persecutions,  but 
none  of  their  trials  were  overlooked  by  the  omniscient  eye 
of  their  Immanuel.  Their  poverty  too,  he  noted,  and 
would  a  thousand-fold  compensate.  And  he  assured  them 
they  were  rich.  "  God  hath  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world, 
rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  his  kingdom."  When  I  am 
weak,  then  am  I  strong." — Emptied  of  self,  and  filled 
with  the  fulness  of  God.  And,  for  their  further  consola- 
tion, Christ  assures  the  church  that  he  was  not  inattentive 
to  the  insults  and  impertinence  of  false  religionists  among 
them,  who,  while  disturbing  their  holy  order,  claimed  to 
be  viewed  and  treated  as  the  true  people  of  God.  The 
term  Jews  here,  means  true  saints.  The  Saviour  de- 
clared, that,  instead  of  such  being  true  saints,  they  were 
"  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan."  Many,  from  that  day  to 
the  present,  have  made  equally  high  claims  with  no  better 


CHAPTER    II.  49 

characters  !  In  these  last  days,  the  thing  will  prove  too 
certain,  and  the  interpretation  sure!  The  high  claims  of 
heretics,  Christ  here  calls  hlasphemy. 

Such  blasphemy  has,  in  our  day,  been  heard ;  and 
much  more  is  yet  to  come.  If  it  has  always  been  a  truth 
that  "  there  must  be  heresies  amon;^  you,  that  those  that 
are  approved  may  be  made  manifest ;"  this  is  more  par- 
ticularly to  be  the  case  in  the  period  just  before  the  battle 
of  that  great  day  of  God.  The  Saviour,  with  his  eye 
fixed  upon  such,  and  at  the  same  time  upon  his  dear 
people,  says  to  the  latter.  Fear  not ! 

Ver.  10.  Fear  none  of  those  things  which  thou 
shalt  sufier :  behold,  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you 
into  prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried  :  and  ye  shall  have 
tribulation  ten  days  :  be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and 
I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life. 

As  though  he  should  say,  "  Fear  not !  for  I  am  with 
thee  ;  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God."  "  Who  art  thou, 
that  thou  shouldst  be  afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die  ;  and  of 
the  son  of  n;an  that  is  grass  ?  Where  is  the  fury  of  the 
oppressor  ?"  "  The  moth  shall  eat  them  up  like  wool !" 
Much  more  happy  was  this  church,  than  were  the  perse- 
cuting Roman  emperors  ;  or  than  was  Alexander,  in  con- 
quering the  world  !  The  latter  would  die  in  vexation  and 
despair ;  but  the  followers  of  Christ  were  heirs  of  an  im- 
mortal kingdom.  For  such,  death  had  no  terrors  ;  the  devil 
would  cast  some  of  them  into  prison  by  his  wicked 
agents :  and  they  should  have  tribulation  ten  days.  A 
ten  years'  persecution  was  just  ahead :  Christ  hence  ex- 
horts them  to  be  faithful  unto  death,  and  he  would  give 
them  a  crown  of  life :  Give  up  your  temporal  life  for  my 
cause,  when  you  are  called ;  and  the  eternal  life  of  the 
soul  shall  take  its  place. 

Ver.  II.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches ;  He  that  over- 
cometh,  shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death. 

This  solemn  direction  is  repeated.  And  who  would  not 
hear  and  obey  it?  What  church  would  not  feel  a  holy 
ambition  to  deserve  such  commendation  1     Here  are  the 

E 


60  LECTURE  m. 

true  riches ;  here  is  true  greatness.  O  church  of  the 
Redeemer,  "go  thou  and  do  likewise."  The  second 
death  (the  true  king  of  terrors  to  the  wicked)  will  have  no 
power  against  people  of  this  character.  But  the  promise 
in  the  text  implies  that  all  who  do  not  overcome,  shall  be 
hurt  of  the  second  death.  They  that  turn  back  from  God, 
as  well  as  they  who  seek  not  God,  will  all  be  cast  into 
the  lake  of  fire,  which  is  the  second  death.  "  Take  heed, 
brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you  an  evil  heart  of  unbe- 
lief, in  departing  away  from  the  living  God." 

Ver.  12.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Per- 
gamos  write  ;  These  things  saith  he  which  hath  the 
sharp  sword  with  two  edges  ; 

Pergamos  was  another  city  of  Asia  Minor,  to  the 
northward  of  Smyrna.  This  church,  while  it  had  some 
things  to  be  commended,  had  some  things  likewise  to  be 
censured.  The  trait  of  Christ's  character  now  was,  "  he 
that  hath  the  sword  of  two  edges  !"  The  two-edged  sword 
of  Christ  will  be  dreadful  where  sin  is  indulged.  May 
delinquent  churches  remember  this,  and  tremble,  and 
reform ! 

With  this  church,  Christ  begins  with  commending  what 
good  he  found  among  them,  evincing  that  he  is  more 
ready  to  commend  than  to  censure.  This  is  much  more 
the  delight  of  benevolence,  while  the  reverse  is  the  malig- 
nant delight  of  the  carnal  heart. 

Ver.  13.  I  know  thy  works,  and  where  thou 
dwellest,  even  where  Satan's  seat  is :  and  thou  bold- 
est fast  my  name,  and  hast  not  denied  my  faith,  even 
in  those  days  wherein  Antipas  was  my  faithful  mar- 
tyr, who  was  slain  among  you,  where  Satan  dwelleth 

All  their  deeds  and  their  trials  were  before  his  omnis- 
cient eye.  Happy  the  people  who  act  always  under  the 
full  impression  of  this  great  truth  !  This  church  dwelt 
where  Satan  had  a  seat  (throne).  Pergamos  was  one  of 
the  head-quarters  of  the  Prince  of  Darkness.  Here  were 
champions  of  idolatry,  of  heresies,  and  of  persecution. 
Here  Antipas  (an  early  martyr),  had  been  made  to  seal 
his  testimony  for  Christ  with  his  blood.     Yet  this  church, 


CHAPTER    II.  51 

in  such  perils,  maintained  its  Cliristian  professions  and 
the  doctrines  of  grace.  One  would  imagine  they  would 
escape  censure.  But  censurable  dereliction  is  found 
even  here ! 

Ver.  14.  But  I  have  a  few  things  against  thee,  be- 
cause thou  hast  there  them  that  hold  the  doctrine  of 
Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  to  cast  a  stumbling-block 
before  the  children  of  Israel,  to  eat  things  sacrificed 
unto  idols,  and  to  commit  fornication. 

15.  So  hast  thou  also  them  that  hold  the  doctrine 
of  the  Nicolaitans,  which  thing  I  hate. 

Some  base  mercenary  characters  were  suffered  to  con- 
tinue in  their  communion.  Some  who  were  of  a  covetous 
temporizing  spirit,  similar  to  that  of  ancient  Balaam,  who 
savoured  not  the  things  of  God,  but  those  of  men,  and 
were  ready,  slyly,  to  give  counsel  against  God's  dear 
Israel.  Such  Antinomian  counsellors  of  Satan  were  by 
some  means  retained  in  the  bosom  of  this  church.  This 
spirit  of  Balaam  can  operate  in  many  ways,  according  to 
time  and  place ;  while  yet  it  is  the  same  thing ;  viz.  a 
covetous  worldly  spirit,  most  hateful  to  God ! 

This  good  church  imbosomed  also  some  who  held  the 
impure  tenets  of  the  Nicolaitans  ;  abominable  to  Christ; 
who  practically  denied  that  "  fleshly  lusts  do  war  ag.iinst 
the  soul !"  that  "  they  who  are  Christ's  have  crucified  the 
flesh  with  the  afl^ections  and  lusts  !"  and  that  the  oflfending 
eye,  not  plucked  out,  will  sink  its  owner  into  hell.  Sen- 
sualists will  forget  these  things  :  but  that  church  should 
not  have  forgotten  them,  nor  held  such  in  her  com- 
munion.    Hence  Christ  adds  : 

Ver.  16.  Repent;  or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee 
quickly,  and  will  fight  against  them  with  the  sword 
of  my  mouth. 

As  though  he  had  said,  with  such  ofl^enders  as  these 
parley  no  longer.  Take  effectual  and  immediate  measures 
either  to  reclaim  them,  or  to  sever  them  from  your  church. 
Listen  not  a  word  to  their  vile  pleas  of  liberty  of  con- 
science, or  of  sincerity  in  their  sentiments  !     Hear  not 


5%  LECTURE    III. 

their  vile  appeals  to  charity.  Be  no  longer  blinded  with 
such  pretences.  Purify  yourselves  at  once  from  such 
scandals  ;  or  you  may  expect  to  know  the  meaning  of  the 
sharp  sword  of  two  edges.  Faithfulness  in  one  point 
will  never  atone  for  sin  in  another.  One  leak,  neglected, 
will  sink  the  ship  !  He  that  offends  in  one  point  is  guilty 
of  all. 

Ver.  17.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches :  To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna,  and 
will  give  him  a  white  stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new 
name  -Cvritten,  which  no  man  knoweth,  saving  he  that 
receiveth  it. 

This  solemn  admonition  is  thus  repeated,  to  show  the 
danger  of  not  yielding  the  pious  attention  demanded. 
Sublime  motives  to  duty  are  continually  presented.  Here, 
they  that  overcome  shall  richly  partake  of  that  bread  of 
life,  typified  by  the  ancient  manna,  hid  in  a  golden  pot  in 
the  ark  of  the  covenant.  Christ  is  the  bread  of  life — the 
true  bread  that  came  down  from  heaven.  The  soul  that 
overcomes  shall  perfectly  enjoy  him  in  his  full  salvation 
in  heaven.  And  in  order  for  this,  such  a  soul  shall  be 
justified  by  Divine  grace,  denoted  by  the  white  stone  here 
mentioned,  in  allusion  to  the  process  in  ancient  courts. 
In  the  trial  of  one  indicted  for  a  crime — the  judges  would 
vote  for  his  condemnation,  by  casting  into  a  box  a  black 
stone,  or  for  his  justification,  by  casting  in  a  white  one.  The 
white  stone  should  be  here  given  in  behalf  of  the  true 
saint.  And,  to  this  figure  Christ  adds  a  rich  appendage, 
that  the  white  stone  of  justification  has  wrought  into 
it  a  new  name,  which  none  but  the  receiver  can  construe; 
or  none  can  infallibly  know  the  evidence  of  grace  in  the 
heart  of  another.  This  is  a  thing  which  a  person 'must 
see  to  for  himself,  by  the  witnessing  of  the  Spirit  of  grace. 
Such  witnessing  gives  meat  to  eat  which  the  world  knoweth 
not — ^joys,  with  which  the  stranger  does  not  intermeddle. 
The  while  stone  of  justification  has  indeed  sanctification  in- 
scribed on  it,  and  well  may  the  subject  of  tliis  be  noted  as 
having  a  7ieiv  name.  "  Thou  shalt  be  called  by  a  new  name, 
which  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  shall  name  ;"  the  new  name  of 


CHAPTER    II.  53 

Christians  was  indeed  given  to  the  followers  of  Christ,  and 
will  be  the  new  name  given  to  the  Jews,  when  they  shall 
be  called  in  !  A  true  Christian,  is  indeed  a  name  which 
no  one  truly  knows,  but  by  being  brought  to  the  posses- 
sion of  it.  "  The  world  knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew 
not  him." 

May  ministers  and  professors,  who  are  called  to  dwell 
where  Satan  peculiarly  has  a  seat,  hear  and  joyfully  obey 
this  address  of  Christ.  Such  places  where  Satan's  seat 
is,  are  many :  and  the  professed  people  of  Christ  there 
are  in  danger  of  becoming  themselves  of  a  temporizing 
character  ;  or  of  being  led  astray  by  those  who  are  of 
such  a  character.  Dreadful  indeed  is  the  charge,  when 
it  applies,  "  Thou  savourest  not  the  things  that  be  of  God  ; 
but  the  things  that  be  of  men."  Ministers  and  churches 
then,  have  great  need  to  maintain  vigilance  and  prayer, 
and  to  be  bold,  zealous,  valiant,  and  persevering.  They 
must  not  consult  flesh  and  blood ;  but  the  word  of  God. 

Ver.  18.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Thy- 
atira  write  ;  These  things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  who 
hath  his  eyes  like  unto  a  flame  of  fire,  and  his  feet  are 
like  fine  brass ; 

We  have  here  an  address  full  of  meaning.  This  city 
south-eastward  of  Pergamos,  had  its  true  church  of  Christ ; 
but  such  were  the  imperfections  found  in  this  church,  that 
Christ  was  about  to  administer  solemn  warning  and  re- 
proof. He  hence  assures  them  that  the  address  was  from 
Him,  before  whose  flaming  eyes  their  conduct  lay  open  \ 
that  their  wickedness  was  before  Him,  whose  feet  are 
like  burning  brass,  or  his  ways  most  pure  and  holy.  But 
he  kindly  commences  by  rehearsing  their  good  deeds. 

Ver.  19.  I  know  thy  works,  and  charity,  and  ser- 
vice, and  faith,  and  thy  patience,  and  thy  works  ;  and 
the  last  to  be  more  than  the  first. 

The   character  of  this   church,  it  seems,  had  been  es- 
tablished by  exhibitions  of  a  good  degree  of  charity,  or 
holy  love.     And  they  had  performed  services  of  faith,  of 
holy  patience,  and  of  good  works  a  second  time  expressed. 
E2 


54  LECTURE    III. 

Happy,  if  so  much  good  could  be  said  of  all  the  professed 
churches  of  Christ.     But  Christ  adds  ; 

Ver.  20.  Notwithstanding  I  have  a  few  things 
against  thee,  because  thoa  sufterest  that  woman  Je- 
zebel, which  callelh  herself  a  prophetess,  to  teach 
and  to  seduce  my  servants  to  commit  fornication,  and 
to  eat  things  sacrificed  unto  idols. 

In  some  great  sin,  various  of  their  members  were  living. 
And  the  Saviour  saw  fit  not  to  call  the  delinquents,  nor  their 
crimes  by  name  ;  but  to  denote  both  by  some  figure  well 
known.  So  delicate  and  wise  is  the  word  of  Divine  re- 
proof !  It  chooses  acceptable  words.  It  presents  a  kind 
glass  in  which  people  may  thus  discover  themselves,  and 
reform  without  being  too  fatally  exposed.  Of  some,  it 
thus  has  compassion,  making  a  difi"erence.  May  public 
instructers  improve  this  hint  of  Christ  relative  to  the  best 
modes  of  public  reproofs.  May  they  avoid  the  Scylla  of 
harshness  needlessly  offensive,  and  cruelly  personal,  on  the 
one  hand — and  the  Charybdis  of  hiding  their  reproofs,  and 
rendering  them  ineff'ectual  by  false  delicacy,  on  the  other. 

We  know  not  the  particular  things  here  condemned  ; 
but  that  church,  no  doubt,  well  understood  the  reproof. 
Some  wicked  character,  or  sect,  was  there  indulged  in  the 
church,  in  a  degree  similar  to  the  idolatrous  Jezebel,  the 
queen  of  Ahab,  who  persecuted  the  prophets  of  the  Lord, 
and  unrighteously  put  her  royal  consort  into  possession  of 
Naboth's  vineyard.  And  she  made  herself  both  impertinent 
and  hateful  by  her  idolatries.  Some  wickedness  was 
winked  at  in  this  church,  which  tended  to  real  idolatry, 
which  is  spiritual  impurity.  They  pleaded  divine  authority 
for  their  peculiarities  ;  but  their  pleas  were  false.  Evils 
like  this  have  infested  the  church  of  Christ  in  all  ages — 
plausible  by  the  blandishm.ents  of  innovators,  and  assum- 
ing shades  of  diff'erence  in  diflferent  times  and  places. 

Ver.  21.  And  I  gave  her  space  to  repent  of  her 
fornication ;  and  she  repented  not. 

22.  Behold,  I  will  cast  her  into  a  bed,  and  them 
that  commit  adultery  with  her  into  great  tribulation, 
except  they  repent  of  their  deeds. 


CHAPTER    II.  65 

23.  And  I  will  kill  her  children  with  death ;  and 
all  the  churches  shall  know  that  I  am  he  which 
searches  the  reins  and  hearts :  and  I  will  give  unto 
every  one  of  you  according  to  your  works. 

This  sect,  spiritually  licentious,  Christ  had  called  upon 
to  repent ;  but  they  had  refused.  And  he  now  denounced 
that  he  would  soon  turn  their  hed  of  selfish  religion,  and  of 
mystical  impurity,  into  a  hed  of  torment ;  perhaps  allud- 
ing to  the  threatening  in  the  prophet,  of  the  same  wrath 
for  a  similar  sin — "  Behold,  all  ye  that  kindle  a  fire  ;  that 
compass  yourselves  about  with  sparks  !  Walk  in  the 
light  of  your  fire,  and  in  the  sparks  that  ye  have  kindled  ; 
lo,  this  shall  ye  have  at  my  hands ;  ye  shall  lie  down  in 
sorrows."  As  a  bed  of  licentiousness  shall  end  in  a  bed 
of  eternal  torments ;  so  the  framers  of  licentious  senti- 
ments— forming  their  sentiments  from  their  own  imagina- 
tions, and  not  from  the  word  of  God,  shall,  at  the  end,  lie 
down  in  eternal  sorrows  !  And  their  children — probably 
neglected  under  some  sanctimonious  pretence,  or  trained 
up  for  annoyance  to  the  faithful  saints — Christ  would  "  kill 
with  death !"  probably  indicating,  that  the  error  of  this 
sect  was  of  a  nature  to  prove  fatal  to  their  families.  Thus 
their  own  wickedness  should  correct  them  ;  and  they,  with 
their  neglected  children,  should  perish  in  their  sins.  And 
all  the  churches,  beholding  such  examples  of  justice, 
shall  know  the  judgments  of  God,  and  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  Jehovah,  who  knows  all  hearts,  and  will  render  to 
all  according  to  their  real  characters  ! 

Ver.  24.  But  unto  you  I  say,  and  unto  the  rest  in 
Thyatira,  As  many  as  have  not  this  doctrine,  and 
which  have  not  known  the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they 
speak ;  I  will  put  upon  you  none  other  burden. 

25.  But  that  which  ye  have  already,  hold  fast  till 
I  come. 

Some,  by  the  grace  of  God,  had  escaped  the  pollutions 
which  have  been  noted.  They  should  walk  with  Christ 
in  the  purity  of  his  salvaticwi,  with  no  additional  burdens. 
These  had  not  known  certain  depths,  in  which,  it  seems,  the 
censured  sect  had  gloried.     To  these  depths  they  proba- 


56  LECTURE    III. 

bly  gave  some  specious  name  of  wisdom :  but  Christ  calls 
them  "  depths  of  Satan."  The  boasted  intimacy  of  this 
sect,  then,  was  not  with  God,  as  they  vainly  fancied ;  but 
with  the  wicked  one.  Too  many,  alas,  have  made  the 
same  mistake,  fancying  they  were  led  by  the  divine  Spirit ; 
when  their  leader,  in  fact,  was  a  fallen  angel !  So  that 
their  boasted  depths  of  wisdom  were,  in  reality,  but 
"  depths  of  Satan,"  who  transforms  himself  into  an  angel 
of  light.  Such  will  turn  into  crooked  ways,  and  be  led 
forth  with  the  workers  of  iniquity.  But  the  true  disciples 
of  Christ  will  hold  fast  till  he  come. 

Ver.  26.  And  he  that  overcometh,  and  keepeth 
my  works  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  power 
over  the  nations. 

27.  (And  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron ; 
as  the  vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they  be  broken  to 
shivers  ;)  even  as  I  received  of  my  Father. 

28.  And  I  will  give  him  the  morning  star. 

29.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

It  is  predicted  of  Christ,  in  Psalm  ii.,  relative  to  the 
heathen,  and  the  antichristian  world,  "  Thou  shalt  break 
them  with  a  rod  of  iron,  and  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces 
like  a  potter's  vessel."  This  has  a  special  allusion  to 
"  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty,"  which 
shall  sink  the  antichristian  world.  And  this  event  Christ 
sees  fit  to  ascribe  to  the  persevering  triumphant  saints. 
They  are  noted  as  doing  this  work  of  judgment,  in  the 
same  sense  in  which  they  are  to  "judge  the  world." 
They  will  have  perfect  fellowship  with  Christ  in  those 
mighty  operations  ;  and  he  will  do  these  things  in  answer 
to  their  prayers  for  the  salvation  of  Zion.  Christ  thus 
puts  upon  his  children  the  honour  of  his  operations  of 
judgment,  even  as  the  two  witnesses  are  said  to  "  have 
power  to  shut  heaven,  that  it  rain  not  in  the  days  of  their 
prophecy ;  and  power  to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues 
as  oft  as  they  will."  The  Psalmist  gives  the  same  view 
of  this  honour  put  upon  the  triumphant  people  of  God  ; 
that  "  the  high  praises  of  God  are  in  their  mouth,  and  a 
two-edged  sword  in  their  hands,  to  execute  vengeance 


CHAPTER    II.  57 

upon  the  heathen,  and  punishment  upon  the  people  ;  to 
execute  upon  them  the  judgments  written ;  this  honour 
have  all  the  saints:"  ^^  Even  as  I  have  received  of  my 
Father"  This  honour  the  Father  has  officially  given  to 
the  Son,  as  Mediator,  and  as  Head  over  all  things  to  the 
church,  as  a  part  of  the  reward  of  his  sufferings  and  hu- 
miliation, when  he  obeyed,  and  died  to  magnify  the  law. 
And  Christ  gives  a  participation  of  the  honour  of  it  to  his 
children,  in  consequence  of  their  obedience  to  the  gospel. 
As  he  says  in  another  passage,  "  He  that  overcometh 
shall  sit  down  with  me  in  my  throne  ;  even  as  I  have 
overcome,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne." 
Christ  had  before  said  to  his  disciples,  "  If  ye  keep  my 
commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my  love ;  even  as  I 
have  kept  the  Father's  commandments,  and  abide  in  his 
love."  As  the  saints  are  justified,  and  will  be  glorified  in 
Christ;  so  he  puts  a  measure  of  his  honour,  in  governing 
and  judging  the  world,  upon  them.  His  saints  will  have 
full  fellowship  with  him  in  these  events,  and  in  his  de- 
stroying the  antichristian  world,  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  Millennium  :  and  he  will  do  it  in  answer  to  their 
prayers  for  Zion,  and  to  complete  her  salvation. 

Christ's  giving  to  all  that  overcome,  the  morning-star, 
means  his  giving  himself  to  them.  "I  am  the  bright  and 
morning  star."  This  is  indeed  the  gift  of  all  gifts.  "He 
that  overcometh,  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my 
son."  Well  does  such  a  promise  close  with  the  gracious 
demand  so  often  repeated,  "  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches."  Seven 
times  over,  in  this  book,  is  this  divine  command  given  in 
the  same  words  !  We  have  here,  then,  a  perfect  testi- 
mony given  to  the  personality  and  divinity  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  1  And  most  perfect  is  the  testimony,  in  this  book, 
borne  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity  of  God.  It 
is  the  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  the  Father 
gave  unto  him.  And  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  what  the 
Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

Let  the  communications  thus  made  unto  us  sink  deep 
into  our  hearts.  Let  them  be  to  us  quick  and  powerful, 
sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword.  Let  them  pierce  to 
the  dividing  asunder,  as  it  were,  the  soul  and  spirit,  the 
joints  and  marrow.  Let  them  be  the  discerner  of  our 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  May  our  sins  be 
hence  purged  off.     May  all  the  members  of  the  church  oi 


S8f  LECTURE    IV. 

Christ  see  to  it  that  no  followers  of  Jezebel,  no  seducing 
characters,  or  practices,  are  allowed  in  their  hearts,  or  in 
their  communities  ;  lest  they  at  last  find  themselves  shut 
out  from  the  holy  temple  above,  and  must  lie  down  in 
eternal  sorrows. 


LECTURE    IV. 


REVELATION    IH. 

Ver.  1.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Sar- 
dis  write :  These  things  saith  he  that  hath  the  seven 
Spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars  ;  I  know  thy 
works,  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and 
art  dead. 

Four  of  the  epistles  of  Christ  to  the  churches  have 
been  considered.     Three  yet  remain. 

Sardis,  southward  of  Thyatira,  was  once  the  renowned 
capital  of  Crcesus  ;  and  was  the  seat  of  the  Lydian  kings. 
The  gospel  had  there  triumphed,  and  a  church  was  col- 
lected. But  their  religion  was,  at  this  time,  at  a  very  low 
ebb.  Christ,  in  his  address  to  them,  takes  the  character- 
istic of  his  being  the  official  director  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  his  muUiform  gifts  and  operations,  denoted  by  the  per- 
fect number  seven  ;  and  of  his  holding  in  his  gracious 
power  the  stars, — the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  He  thus 
signifies  to  a  delinquent  church,  that  he  it  is  who  can  re- 
plenish them  with  graces  and  gifts  ;  or  withdraw  from 
them  all  gospel  blessings,  as  he  may  please.  The 
phrase,  "  the  seven  spirits  of  God,"  is  a  powerful  expres- 
sion of  the  different  gifts,  and  operations,  and  of  the  infi- 
nite fulness  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Paul  alludes  to  the 
same,  when  he  tells  the  Corinthians,  "  There  are  diversi- 
ties of  gifts ;  but  the  same  Spirit."  Christ  assures  this 
church  of  his  lull  acquaintance  with  them,  and  that  while 
tliey  had  a  name  to  live,  they  were  dead.     We  would 


CHAPTER    III.  59 

hope  this  was  not  the  case  with  all  the  individuals  in  that 
church.  But  the  phrase  seems  to  imply,  that  it  was 
thus  with  a  majority  of  them,  at  least.  They  had  taken 
their  lamp  whhout  the  oil.  This  is  an  awfnl  prelude  to 
eternal  and  most  aggravated  condemnation,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  foolish  virgins ;  and  of  the  hope  of  the  hypocrite, 
that  shall  perish. 

Ver.  2.  Be  watchful,  and  strengthen  the  things 
which  remain,  that  are  ready  to  die :  for  I  have  not 
found  thy  works  perfect  before  God. 

3.  Remember  therefore  how  thou  hast  received 
and  heard  ;  and  hold  fast,  and  repent.  If  therefore 
thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come  on  thee  as  a  thief, 
and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  I  will  come 
upon  thee. 

They  were  here  warned  immediately  to  awake,  and 
cherish  whatever  of  Christianity  was  still  existing  among 
them,  lest  it  become  utterly  extinct;  to  give  the  more 
earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  they  had  heard  ;  to  re- 
pent, and  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance  ;  or  Christ 
would  soon  visit  them  hi  some  unexpected  and  fatal 
manner. 

Ver.  4.  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in  Sardis 
which  have  not  defiled  their  garments ;  and  they 
shall  walk  with  me  in  white  :  for  they  are  worthy. 

Even  in  this  church,  thus  dead  as  a  body,  were  con- 
tained a  few  faithful  members,  who  were  in  a  good  de- 
gree uncontaminated  with  the  general  corruption  of  the 
body.  They  had  dared  alone  to  stem  the  torrent  of  evil, 
and  to  stand  firm.  Their  walking  with  Christ  in  rchite, 
may  allude  to  the  follow  in  g/ac^^,  that  white  is  a  natural 
emblem  of  purity,  and  also  of  victory ;  that  the  singing 
Levites  of  old  were  ordered  to  minister  in  their  service 
before  God  "  being  clothed  in  white  ;"  and  that  the  An- 
cient of  days  (Christ)  appeared  in  Daniel,  and  on  ilie 
mount  of  transfiguration,  in  a  garment  intensely  white. 
These  few  names,  then,  should  walk  with  Christ  in  purity 
and  victory.     "  For  they  are  worthy  :"  not  with  legal  or 


GO  LECTURE    IV. 

condign  worthiness  ;  but  with  a  worthiness  of  congruity  ; 
or  fitness  by  divine  grace  within  them,  and  by  their  inter- 
est in  Christ.  Here  is  a  blessed  encouragement,  in  a 
time  of  general  corruption,  to  dare  to  be  bold  and  singular 
for  Christ,  at  whatever  expense  of  name,  property,  or 
even  of  life. 

Ver.  5.  He  that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be 
clothed  in  white  raiment ;  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his 
name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  but  I  will  confess  his 
name  before  my  Father,  and  before  his  angels. 

6.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

To  encourage,  effectually,  those  few  names,  and  all 
similar  characters,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  the  general 
declaration  is  made,  that  all  who  thus  follow  Christ,  and 
overcome,  shall  be  treated  as  conquerors ;  confirmed  in 
eternal  purity ;  shall  find  their  names  in  the  book  of  life 
in  heaven;  and  shall  be  owned  of  Christ  before  the 
Father,  and  all  the  angelic  hosts.  Their  not  having  their 
names  erased  from  the  book  of  life,  is  spoken  only  after 
the  manner  of  men ;  inasmuch  as  professors  who  have 
never  forfeited  their  characters,  are  received  and  spoken  of 
as  the  righteous,  and  consequently  as  having  their  names 
in  the  book  of  life.  And,  following  the  same  language, 
if  they  fall  away,  they  are  noted  as  turning  from  their 
righteousness  to  iniquity,  and  having  their  names  taken 
from  the  book  of  life.  But  the  literal  fact  is,  apostates 
discover  only  that  they  never  were  truly  of  the  righteous ; 
and  their  names  were  never  in  the  book  of  life.  Had 
they  been  there,  they  would  never  have  been  suffered 
fatally  to  apostatize.  "  The  righteous  fall  seven  times, 
and  rise  again."  The  Holy  Ghost  assures  us  that  nothing 
shall  ever  separate  them  from  the  love  of  God  which  is 
in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  This  address,  like  the  others, 
is  closed  with  the  call  to  all  who  have  ears,  to  hear  or 
obey. 

In  view  of  the  charge,  "  Thou  hast  a  name  that  thou 
livest,  and  art  dead !"  let  professors  tremble ;  and  each 
one  say,  "  Lord,  is  it  I  ?"  "  Search  me,  O  Lord,  and 
prove  me  !     Try  my  reins  and  my  heart !" 


CHAPTER    III.  61 

May  the  few  faithful  names  found  in  dead  churches,  be 
stimulated  to  new  zeal.  May  they  "  be  strong,  and  bold, 
and  very  courageous,"  at  the  direction  of  him  who  says 
to  them,  "  Watch  ye  :  stand  fast  in  the  faith  ;  quit  ye  like 
men ;  be  strong."  And,  when  the  dead  mass  of  false 
brethren  shall  sink  in  ruin  ;  they  will  be  crowned  as  con- 
querors before  the  general  assembly  of  angels  and  saints. 
In  the  darkest  scenes,  they  have  it  for  their  encourage- 
ment, that  "  the  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure,  having 
this  seal,  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his !" 

Ver.  7.  And  to  the  angel  of  the  church  in  Phila- 
delphia write  :  These  things  saith  he  that  is  holy,  he 
that  is  true,  he  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  he  that 
openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth ;  and  shutteth,  and  no 
man  openeth ; 

This  city,  southward  of  Sardis,  contained  a  church  not 
to  be  censured.  They  were,  indeed,  according  to  the 
name  of  their  c\\,y ,  friendly  brethren  !  The  Saviour  now 
takes  his  name  from  those  traits  of  character  that  are 
most  encouraging  : — "  He  that  is  holy  ;"  or  full  of  pure 
and  perfect  love  :  "  He  that  is  true  ;"  and  hence  is  faith- 
ful to  his  promises  :  "  He  that  hath  the  key  of  David  ;"  or 
has  infinite  power  to  save,  restmg  on  the  covenant  of 
redemption  made  with  him  as  the  antetype  of  David.  "  He 
that  openeth,  and  no  man  shutteth ;  and  shutteth,  and  no 
man  openeth  ;"  or,  has  infinite  power  either  to  unfold,  or 
to  hide  the  plan  of  salvation  ;  to  open  the  door  of  the 
human  heart,  that  it  shall  receive  salvation ;  and  also 
power  to  open  the  door  of  heaven  or  of  hell  to  the  souls 
of  men. 

Ver.  8.  I  know  thy  works :  behold,  I  have  set 
before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can  shut  it : 
for  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast  kept  my 
word,  and  hast  not  denied  my  name. 

All  their  faithful  deeds  Christ  noted,  and  would  unfold 

for  their  reward.     He  had  laid  open  before  them  a  door 

both  of  Christian  usefulness,  and  of  eternal  glory,  which 

no  enemies  could  close.     Such  doors  Christ  opens  to  the 

F 


62  LECTURE    IV. 

faithful ; — doors  of  securing  a  bright  reward,  and  of  his 
conferring  it  upon  them.  These  saints  had  *'  a  little 
strength,"  moral  strength  ;  not  from  themselves,  but  from 
the  grace  of  God,  which  they  had  received  and  cultivated 
in  the  most  trying  days.  Such  gracious  habits  of  soul, 
Christians  may  and  ought  ever  to  cultivate,  in  the  strength 
of  Jesus  Christ.  'J'hen  they  have  an  open  door,  indeed, 
Avhich  the  kingdom  of  darkness  can  never  shut ;  a  door  of 
usefulness  and  of  salvation. 

Ver.  9.  Behold,  I  will  make  them  of  the  syna- 
gogue of  Satan,  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are 
not,  but  do  lie  ;  behold,  1  will  make  them  to  come 
and  worship  before  thy  feet,  and  to  know  that  I  have 
loved  thee. 

Tliis  church,  too,  had  been  annoyed  by  vile  impostors, 
calling  themselves  Jews,  meaning  here  true  friends  of 
God.  But  their  claims  were  false.  Christ  declared  theni 
to  be  "of  the  synagogue  of  Satan!"  And  these  vile 
characters  should,  sooner  or  later,  be  made  to  feel  and  to 
confess  the  excellency  of  the  characters  they  had  thus 
injured.  And  their  confusion  in  this  thing  is  denoted  by 
the  proverbial  phrase  of  their  coming  and  worshipping 
bcfciie  the  feet  of  those  they  had  despised  and  injured  ;  as 
in  the  prophet:  "They  shall  come  bending  unto  thee. 
They  sliall  bow  themselves  down  at  the  soles  of  thy 
feet."  Scenes  of  eternal  and  intolerable  mortification 
await  all  such  impenitent  offenders  of  Christ's  little  ones. 
Christ  had  before  said,  that  it  had  been  better  for  such  if 
a  millstone  were  hanged  about  their  necks,  and  they  cast 
into  the  sea,  than  that  they  should  thus  offend.  Such 
hints  will  be  found  to  contain  infinite  terror  to  very  many, 
who  here  delight  to  torture  and  oppose  the  true  people  of 
God! 

Ver.  10.  Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my 
patience,  1  also  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temp- 
tation, which  shall  come  upon  all  the  world,  to  try 
Ihcm  that  dwell  upon  the  earth. 

"  The  word  of  my  patience  !"  thus  called,  because 


CHAPTER    III.  63 

that  to  obey  it,  in  such  a  time,  and  to  endure  the  conse- 
quent persecutions,  required  great  patience  ;  and  also 
because  the  wonderful  patience  of  Christ  towards  his 
enemies,  was  exhibited  in  such  scenes  of  their  cruelly 
and  outrage  !  Christ  now  engaged  to  such,  to  keep  them 
in  all  their  future  scenes ;  not  from  being  tried,  but  from 
being  overcome.  A  tremendous  scene  of  temptation  and 
terror  then  awaited  the  Christians  of  the  Roman  earth,  in 
the  persecution  under  the  Emperor  Domitian.  The 
Homan  empire  is  often  spoken  of  in  Revelation,  as  the 
earthy  and  the  world.  That  bloody  persecution  was  then 
coming  "upon  all  the  (Roman)  world,  to  try  them  that 
dwelt  upon  the  (Roman)  earth."  In  this,  Christ  would 
sustain  that  church.  Christians  in  all  ages  have  their 
■special  trials,  in  which  their  Lord  graciously  engages  to 
keep  them.  "  Fear  not !  for  I  am  with  thee  !"  "  It  is  I ; 
be  not  afraid,"  The  covenant  of  grace  assures,  that  "  in 
every  temptation,  God  is  faithful  ;  who  will  not  suffer  you 
to  be  tempted  above  what  ye  are  able  ;  but  will  with  every 
temptation  make  a  way  for  your  escape,  or  enable  you  to 
bear  it."  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  :  my  strength 
is  made  perfect  in  weakness."  But  such  grace  is  derived 
and  enjoyed  only  in  the  way  of  diligent  Christian  Aulhful- 
jiess.     Hence  our  blessed  Lord  adds  : 

Ver.  11.  Behold,  I  come  quickly:  hold  that  fast 
ivhich  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown. 

12.  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  make  a  pillar  in 
the  temple  of  my  God ;  and  he  shall  go  no  more 
out:  and  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of  my 
God,  and  the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God,  which  is 
New  Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven 
from  my  God  :  and  /  will  write  upon  him  my  new 
name. 

13.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

Christians  are  ever  to  remember,  that  behold  their  Lord 
cometh  quickly  !  at  all  times  must  they  *'  look  for,  and 
haste  unto  the  coming  of  their  Lord"  and  Judge.  He 
may  speedily  come  in  their  individual  death.  And  the 
lime  tiiat  may  intervene  between  this  and  his  final  coming, 


64  LECTURE    IV. 

will  be  as  nothing  compared  with  eternity.  The  grace 
given  to  Christians  must  be  held  fast ;  and  it  requires  dili- 
gent cultivation,  that  no  enemy  may  wrest  their  crown 
from  them,  or  rob  them  of  their  eternal  glory.  Grant  that 
the  crown  of  glory  is,  in  the  covenant  of  grace,  made 
certain  to  all  the  regenerate :  yet  this  certainty  of  the 
end  does  not  preclude  the  necessity  of  means  of  arriving 
at  the  end ;  nor  of  giving  all  diligence  to  persevere, — of 
agonizing  to  endure  unto  the  end  :  and  after  all  their  dili- 
gence, it  is  said,  "  If  the  righteous  scarcely  are  saved — " 
Such  is  the  manner,  on  their  part,  of  their  reaching  sal- 
vation. 

Their  salvation  is  here  noted  by  their  being  made  a 
pillar  in  the  temple  of  glory,  that  shall  be  honoured  with 
the  inscription  of  the  name  of  God,  of  the  name  of  the 
city  of  glory,  and  of  the  new  name  of  Christ.  The  par- 
ticular things  meant,  eternity  will  unfold!  "How  can 
ye  understand,  if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things?"  "It 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be."  Relative  to 
Christ's  new  name,  we  know  not ;  it  may  allude  to  the 
new  character,  under  which  Christ  will  appear  to  eter- 
nity  in  heaven,  after  he  shall  have  divested  himself  of 
his  present  mediatorial  kingdom  at  the  end  of  the  world. 
"  Then  cometh  the  end,  when  he  shall  have  delivered  up 
the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father."  Surely  Christ 
must,  thenceforward,  in  eternity,  appear  to  the  redeemed 
in  some  new  point  of  light.  And  this  may,  for  aught  we 
can  tell,  account  for  his  "  new  name,"  to  be  inscribed  on 
the  redeemed  pillars  of  the  heavenly  temple.  And,  as 
things  are  thus,  no  wonder  Christ  repeats  his  command, 
to  have  all  that  have  ears  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches  !  All  other  interests  sink  to  nothing  before 
this  !  Most  pitiful,  then,  is  the  sleepy  state  of  the  Chris- 
tian world !  In  how  great  danger"  are  many  who  hope, 
and  who  profess  religion,  of  coming  short  of  such  glory! 
And  how  irreparable  will  be  the  loss  !  Many  of  the  chil- 
dren of  "  the  kingdom  will  be  cast  out."  "  There  shall 
be  weeping,  and  gnashing  of  teeth,  when  ye  shall  see 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  prophets  in  the 
kingdom  of  God  ;  and  you  yourselves  thrust  out  !" 
Awake,  then,  all  who  wear  the  name  of  Christ !  you 
walk  on  snares  !  you  are  in  an  enemy's  land  !  Will  you 
sleep  in  the  field  of  battle  ?     Foes  most  potent  are  en- 


CHAPTER  m.  65 

gaged  to  rob  you  of  your  eternal  life, — your  eternal  all ! 
Thousands  have  been  thus  robbed  ;  and  thousands  more 
will  be  thus  robbed  !  Will  you  permit  yourselves  to  be 
found  among  them  ?  In  order  to  escape,'inspiration  savs, 
"Be  sober:  be  vigilant:  because  your  adversary  the 
devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  goeth  about,  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour." 

Ver.  14.  And  unto  the  angel  of  the  church  of  the 
Laodiceans  write  :  These  things  saith  the  Amen,  the 
faithful  and  true  Witness,  the  Beginning  of  the  cre- 
ation of  God : 

This  city  was  southward  of  Philadelphia,  and  on  the 
way  to  Ephesus.  These  seven  churches  lay  in  a  kind 
of  circle.  Laodicea  is  the  last ;  and  is  far  from  bein^r 
the  best.  The  divine  Master  presents  himself  to  them  as 
the  Amen,  or  immutable  Being ;  one  who  bears  faithful 
and  true  testimony  concerning  them,  and  all  men.  "  The 
beginning  of  the  creation  of  God  ;"  or  who,  in  his  con- 
stituted mediatorial  ofPice,  is  the  "  firstborn  of  every  crea- 
ture ;"  the  first  created  establishment  actually  brought 
into  existence.  The  covenant  of  redemption  was  first 
formed  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  in  which  Christ 
was  constituted  mediator.  And,  as  the  humanity  of 
Christ  (which  was  then  covenanted  to  be  received  in  due 
tim.e)  should  be  created  ;  as  the  connexion  between  this 
and  the  infinite  divinity  of  Christ,  should  be  created  ;  and 
as  the  whole  official  chRVRcter  of  CA^Ylst  is  cG7istitutcd ; 
so  he  denominates  himself,  "the  beginning  of  the  creation 
of  God."  This  text  belongs  to  that  class  of  texts,  which 
present  Christ  as  dependent  on  the  Father, — made  to  be 
both  Lord  and  Christ, — and  his  having  all  power,  in 
heaven  and  on  earth,  committed  to  him.  This  class  of 
texts  allude  not  to  any  natural  dependence  of  Christ,  in 
his  divinity,  on  the  Father !  For  he  is  one  in  him  !  But 
they  allude  to  his  constituted  character,  as  Mediator. 
Another  great  class  of  texts  assure  us,  that  Christ  is  of 
underived,  eternal  divinity  ;  the  true  God  ;  "  without  Fa- 
ther, without  descent,  without  beginning,"  as  in  Meh 
chizedeck. 

F2 


66  LECTURE    IV. 

Ver.  15.  I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art  neither 
cold  nor  hot :  I  would  thou  wert  cold  or  hot. 

16.  So  then,  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and 
neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  spew  thee  out  of  ray 
mouth. 

The  word  lukewarm  alludes  to  that  state  of  water, 
which  is  most  offensive  to  the  stomach.  Christ  would 
have  them  understand,  that  their  state  of  heart  relative 
to  religion,  being  neither  one  thing  nor  another,  was  most 
offensive  to  him.  They  had  their  form  of  godliness,  it 
seems,  without  the  power.  They  would  not  take  the 
position  of  open  enemies  ;  nor  would  they  be  zealous 
friends.  They  seemed  determined  to  reconcile  God  and 
mammon.  Christ  says,  "  I  would  that  ye  were  cold  or 
hot!"  Be  one  thing  or  another.  Either  be  zealous 
Christians,  or  make  no  further  pretence.  As  he  had  said 
to  the  Jews  ;  "  Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  its  fruit 
good ;  or  the  tree  corrupt,  and  its  fruit  corrupt."  But 
continuing  as  they  were,  Christ  would  soon  reject  them  ; 
even  as  lukewarm  water  is  thrown  as  sickening  and  dis- 
gusting from  the  stomach.  So  base  and  contemptible 
does  the  Saviour  view  professors  who  are  neither  one 
thing  or  another  !  having  a  little  of  religion  to  quiet  their 
consciences  ;  and  yet  not  enough  to  mortify  their  lusts,  or 
to  disturb  the  selfish  heart. 

Ver.  17.  Because  thou  sayest,  I  am  rich,  and  in- 
creased with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing  ;  and 
knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched,  and  miserable, 
and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked : 

We  have  here  a  most  natural  trait  of  the  character  of 
hypocrites  ;  in  their  own  imaginations  they  are  rich  and 
happy  in  spiritual  prospects  !  having  no  proper  idea 
of  their  depravity,  guilt,  and  wretchedness  ; — at  ease  in 
Zion  ;  crying  Peace  !  while  they  are  spiritually  dead,  and 
sinking  in  eternal  death.  God  says  they  are  "  wretched, 
miserable,  poor,  blind,  and  naked  !"  This  they  will  find, 
when  it  is  for  ever  too  late. 

What  multitudes  are  in  this  wretched  case  ?    "  Five  of 


CHAPTER    III.  67 

them  were  wise,  and  five  foolish  !"  If  the  disciples  were 
struck  with  a  panic,  on  being  informed  that  one  of  their 
twelve  was  thus  wretched  :  what  should  be  the  fear  of 
the  present  visible  kingdom  of  Christ,  when  assured  that 
five  in  ten  are  thus  ?  This  greater  danger  hardens  many, 
even  to  a  cold  insensibility  !  "  and  knowest  not  that  thou 
art  wretched."  Examine  yourselves  then,  0  professors, 
whether  ye  be  in  the  faith  !  prove  your  own  selves. 
"  Search  me,  0  Lord,  and  prove  me  !  try  my  reins  and 
my  heart." 

Ver.  18.1  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me  gold  tried  in 
the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich  ;  and  white  raiment, 
that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and  that  the  shame  of 
thy  nakedness  do  not  appear ;  and  anoint  thine  eyes 
with  eye-salve  that  thou  mayest  see. 

This  church  was  yet  within  the  reach  of  mercy.  An 
urgent  call  was  once  more  addressed  to  them  by  him  who  is 
Wondcrful^Counsellor  I  "  I  counsel  thee."  Happy  token  for 
good,  if  the  counsel  might  at  last  be  heard  !  The  counsel 
is  addressed  in  the  most  appropriate  figures.  "  i^wy," 
take  as  a  gift,  "  gold ;"  a  thing  men  most  value  ;  the  gold 
of  heaven ;  the  tried,  and  pure.  While  raiment  too ; 
grace  and  righteousness.  "  Bwy,"  take  them,  that  the 
soul  may  be  adorned  ;  and  not  be  found  naked.  And  eye- 
salve  from  Christ,  the  Balm  of  Gilead,  the  Light  of  the 
world  ;  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  Eyes  thus  anointed 
shall  see  clearly. 

Ver.  19.  As  many  as  I  love,  I  rebuke  and  chasten: 
be  zealous  therefore,  and  repent. 

We  have  here  a  sentence  most  appropriate  to  the  luke- 
warm, for  whom  Christ  has  any  design  of  mercy.  Such 
coldness  will  but  hasten  the  chastening  rod,  where  there 
has  ever  been  a  spark  of  grace.  The  paternal  rod  must 
be  laid  on,  to  recover.  Let  the  chastised  then,  fervently 
repent,  and  zealously  reform.  Let  penitent  zeal  pluck 
out  the  offending  eye,  and  cut  off"  the  ofl^'ending  foot,  or 
hand ;  lest  both  soul  and  body  be  lost  in  hell. 


68  LECTURE   ir. 

Ver.  20.  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock : 
if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will 
come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with 
me. 

Although  Christ  was  virtually  turned  out  of  doors  by 
this  ungrateful  church  :  yet  as  though  graciously  unwil- 
ling to  leave  them  to  perish,  he  stands  at  the  door,  and 
most  kindly  knocks  for  admittance.  If  any  then  will 
come  to  their  senses,  and  open  the  door  of  the  heart  to 
this  wonderftd  heavenly  visiter,  he  will  come  in,  and  re- 
ceive such  to  his  holy  fellowship  and  salvation. 

Jesus  Christ  does  indeed  knock  at  the  door  of  the 
heart  of  the  gospel  sinner,  and  hypocrite.  He  knocks 
by  his  word  ;  by  the  whispers  of  his  spirit ;  by  his  faith- 
ful ministers  ;  by  the  profession,  order,  and  examples  of 
his  followers  ;  and  by  his  works  of  mercy,  and  of  judg- 
ment. And,  into  every  heart  that  graciously  admits  him, 
he  enters  with  the  riches  of  his  grace.  "  I  will  sup  with 
him,  and  he  with  me."  A  blessed  fellowship  commences. 
"  Truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  the 
Son."  This  will  yield  substantial  peace.  "  Thou  wilt 
keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee, 
because  he  trusteth  in  thee."  "  And  the  peace  of  God 
that  passeth  understanding,  shall  keep  your  heart  and 
mind  through  Jesus  Christ."  The  grace  of  God,  the 
love  of  Christ,  and  the  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  are  setded 
on  such  as  their  rich  inheritance. 

Ver.  21.  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to 
sit  w^ith  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame, 
and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne. 

Jesus  Christ  most  diligently  performed  and  finished  the 
work  assigned  him  as  our  Redeemer ;  and  he  was  hence 
exalted  to  the  throne  of  God,  where  he  engages  that  all 
who  with  his  spirit  encounter  the  difficuldes,  and  perform 
the  duties  of  the  Christian  life,  shall  be  exalted  to  reign 
with  him.  "  If  so  be  that  we  sufier  with  him,  that  we 
may  be  also  glorified  together."  Most  pungent  warning 
is,  in  our  text,  implied  for  all  those  pusillanimous,  faint- 
hearted pretenders  to  religion,  who  will  shape  their  plans 


CHAPTER  III.  69 

to  slide  by  every  cross,  as  though  determined  never  to 
suffer  any  inconvenience  for  the  sake  of  Christ.  Such 
characters  have  ever  abounded.  But  such  "-fearful  souls'^ 
are  ranked  with  the  "  unbelieving,"  who  shall  "have  their 
part  in  the  lake  of  fire."  Those  who  cheerfully  suffer 
with  Christ,  are  the  souls  who  shall  reign  with  him.  "Ye 
are  they  who  have  continued  with  me  in  my  temptations ; 
and  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  even  as  my  Father 
hath  appointed  unto  me."  AH  others  virtually  deny 
Christ,  and  will  be  by  him  denied. 

Listen,  then,  to  the  way  by  which  to  overcome ;  and  to 
the  infinite  benefit  to  your  souls  of  overcoming.  It  must 
be  by  faith  in  Christ ;  and  by  persevering  faithfulness  in 
his  strength  and  grace.  And  "  he  that  overcomeih  shall 
inherit  all  things." 

Ver.  22.  He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what 
the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches. 

Seven  times  are  we  presented,  in  these  epistles,  with 
this  solemn  warning,  in  the  same  words.  Why  is  it  thus 
repeated?  The  reason  is  manifest:  men  are  dull  of 
hearing.  But,  that  they  should  hear,  and  obey,  is  of 
eternal  importance.  They  must  hear  and  obey  :  or  eter- 
nally sink  in  the  lake  of  fire.  Hence  the  same  words  are 
repeated  to  the  perfect  number  seven. 

Seven  is  a  number  much  used  in  this  mystical  book. 
We  find  here  at  least  seven  septenaries ;  or,  the  number 
seven  seven  times  used.  We  have  seven  addresses  to 
an  equal  number  of  churches  ;  seven  horns  of  the  Lamb  ; 
the  seven  lamps  ;  the  seven  eyes  of  the  Lamb  (the  same 
as  the  seven  spirits  of  God) ;  the  seven  seals  ;  the  seven 
trumpets  ;  and  the  seven  vials. 

Vastly  important  to  us  is  the  warning  in  our  text,  seven 
times  from  the  mouth  of  God,  urged  in  the  same  words. 
This  should  make  a  deep  and  practical  impression  on  the 
hearts  of  all  in  Zion.  Let  those  who  seldom  read  them, 
and  those  who  read,  but  yield  no  trembling  obedience, 
pause  and  consider.  May  all  awake,  and  hear,  and  obey, 
the  warnings  in  these  seven  epistles  to  us  from  our  final 
Judge.  Such  they  are,  though  alas,  forgotten.  They 
furnish  a  glass  in  which  every  church,  and  all  the  mem- 
bers in  the  visible  kingdom  of  God,  may  see  themselves, 


'70  LECTURE    V. 

and  prepare  to  meet  their  Judge  !  Let  us  be  conversant 
with  this  most  precious  heavenly  mirror.  Let  us,  with 
devout  souls,  and  most  devout  breathings  of  heart  towards 
God,  often  place  ourselves  before  it,  and  form  our  hearts 
and  lives  by  it,  lest  we  be  condemned  at  the  close  of  our 
probation.  "  The  words  which  1  have  spoken,  they  shall 
judge  you  at  that  day." 


LECTURE    V. 


REVELATION   IV. 

Ver.  L  After  this  I  looked,  and  behold,  a  door 
was  opened  in  heaven  ;  and  the  first  voice  which  I 
heard  ivas  as  it  were  of  a  trumpet  talking  with  me  ; 
which  said.  Come  up  hither,  and  I  will  shew  thee 
things  which  must  be  hereafter. 

The  actors  in  the  following  scenes  are  next  to  be  pre- 
sented ;  and  it  must  be  done  in  the  figurative  language  of 
this  book.  The  place  chosen  for  the  presentment  of 
them  is  found  to  be  the  third  heavens  ;  or  the  space  im- 
agined to  be  above  our  visible  heavens,  above  the  air,  and 
starry  regions.  Looking  upward,  John  saw  in  vision,  or 
seemed  to  himself  to  behold,  an  opening  in  the  vault  in  the 
upper  sky  which  terminates  our  sight,  when  directed  up- 
ward. From  this  opening,  a  trumpet-like  voice  directed 
him  to  ascend  thither,  and  he  should  learn  scenes  qf 
futurity. 

Ver.  2.  And  immediately  I  was  in  the  Spirit: 
and,  behold,  a  throne  was  set  in  heaven,  and  one  sat 
on  the  throne. 

3.  And  lie  that  sat  was  to  look  upon  like  a  jasper 
and  a  sardine-stone :  and  there  loas  a  rainbow^  round 
about  the  throne,  in  sight  like  unto  an  emerald. 


CHAPTER    IV.  71 

John  seemed  to  himself  instantly  to  obey,  and  to  lose 
sight  of  all  things  earthly.  He  now  seemed  to  behold 
God  the  Father  as  seated  on  a  throne  worthy  of  himself. 
But  inspiration  assures  us  that  no  man  hath  seen  God  at 
any  time  ;  or  can  see  his  face  and  live.  This  scriptural 
representation,  and  the  one  in  our  text,  form  no  disagree- 
ment ;  for  the  former  speaks  of  seeing  God  literally,  as 
he  is  ;  and  in  the  text,  the  view  given  of  God  is  only  fig- 
urative, and  such  as  mortal  man  can  endure. 

This  view,  given  of  God  the  Father  to  John,  was  on 
the  same  principle  with  that  which,  in  the  close  of  the 
Revelation,  is  given  of  heaven,  in  the  figure  of  the  New 
Jerusalem.  Similar  figurative  views  had  before  been 
given  of  God  ; — as  that  to  Isaiah,  "  in  the  year  that  king 
Uzziah  died  ;"  that  to  Micaiah,  when  called  before  Ahaz  ; 
and  that  to  Stephen,  about  to  suffer  martyrdom.  God 
was  said  to  converse  with  Moses  '''-face  to  face^''  as  a 
man  converses  with  his  friend  :  while  the  fact  was,  Moses 
only  heard  God's  voice  from  the  Shechinah ;  wliile  yet 
God  assured  Moses,  that  no  man  could  see  his  face  and 
live. 

Tiie  Divine  appearance  to  John,  in  our  text,  was 
merely  assumed,  that  God  might  accommodate  himself 
to  mortal  man.  The  scene  might  be  borrowed  from  the 
style  of  earthly  monarchs,  who  have  their  thrones,  robes, 
and  richest  gems. 

The  Divine  appearance  like  a  jasper  and  a  sardine- 
stone,  was  an  emblem  of  God's  perfection.  Grotius  was 
of  opinion,  that  the  jasper  in  the  Revelation  means  the 
diamond,  the  richest  of  all  gems  ;  and  it  here  denotes  the 
power  and  purity  of  the  Almighty. 

The  sardine-stone,  of  a  red  hue,  may  here  remind  us 
of  the  Divine  justice.  And  the  rainbow  round  the  throne 
denotes  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  fulfil  his  word.  The 
rainbow  is  set  in  the  cloud,  to  show  that  God  will  keep 
his  word,  never  again  to  drown  the  world ;  so,  whenever 
it  is  appended  to  any  Divine  appearance,  it  indicates 
God's  immutable  faithfulness.  The  greenness  of  the 
bow  round  the  throne,  in  our  text,  denotes  the  mild  and 
pleasant  effects  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  man  ; — like 
the  still  small  voice  to  Elijah  after  the  earthquake,  the 
wind,  and  the  fire. 


72  LECTURE    V. 

Ver.  4.  And  round  about  the  throne  were  four- 
and-twenty  seats :  and  upon  the  seats  I  saw  four- 
and-twenty  elders  sitting,  clothed  in  white  raiment ; 
and  they  had  on  their  heads  crowns  of  gold. 

These  elders  denote  the  common  members  of  the 
church  of  Christ.  Their  number  is  that  made  by  the 
union  of  the  patriarchs  and  apostles ;  as  the  gospel 
church  and  the  church  of  the  Old  Testament  are  essen- 
tially one. 

It  is  a  fact,  too,  that  the  priests  of  old  (typical  of  the 
gospel  church)  were  divided  into  four-and-twenty  courses. 
And  among  the  Levites  of  old,  there  were  also  four-and- 
twenty  courses  of  sacred  musicians  for  public  worship. 

With  these  things  accords  the  fact  in  our  text,  that  the 
representatives  of  the  common  members  of  the  gospel 
church,  who  are  God's  royal  priesthood,  should  be  exhib- 
ited as  twenty-four.  They  appear  sitting  each  one  on  a 
seat  round  the  throne  of  God,  which  denotes  the  presence 
of  God  with  them:  "  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her."  Their 
clotiiing  of  white  raiment  denotes  their  purity :  and  their 
crowns  are  an  earnest  of  their  eternal  glory.  They  are 
kings,  as  well  as  priests,  unto  God. 

Ver.  5.  And  out  of  the  throne  proceeded  light- 
nings, and  thunderings,  and  voices :  and  there  were 
seven  lamps  of  fire  burning  before  the  throne,  which 
are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God. 

These  thunders,  lightnings,  and  voices,  are  most  fit  ap- 
pendages of  the  scene ;  and  they  indicate  the  judgments 
with  which  God  vindicates  his  church,  and  destroys  her 
enemies. 

The  seven  lamps  burning  before  the  throne,  or  in  the 
midst  of  these  elders,  assure  us  of  the  various  gifts  and 
graces  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  communicated  for  the  salvation 
of  the  people  of  God ;  "  There  are  diversities  of  gifts  ; 
but  the  same  Spirit." 

Ver.  6.  And  before  the  throne  there  was  a  sea  of 
glass,  like  unto  crystal :   and  in  the  midst  of  the 


CHAPTER    IV.  73 

throne,  and  round  about  the  throne,  were  four  beasts, 
full  of  eyes  before  and  behind. 

This  sea  of  glass  is  in  allusion  to  the  great  brazen  sea, 
in  the  temple  of  old,  which  was  for  the  washing  of  the 
priests.  This  vessel  was  called  a  sea,  on  account  of  its 
vast  capacity ;  and  it  was  made  of  brass. 

In  allusion  to  that  ancient  sea  in  the  temple,  Divine 
grace,  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  was  predicted  as 
a  "  fountain  to  be  opened  for  sin  and  for  uncleanness." 
The  Christian  church,  as  well  as  the  church  of  old, 
should  have  her  sea  for  gracious  cleansing.  But  in  the 
Christian  church,  instead  of  this  sea  being  of  brass,  im- 
pervious to  the  rays  of  light,  it  should  consist  of  pure 
transparent  glass.  This  is  to  denote  the  lucidness  of  the 
Christian  dispensation ;  where  light  has  come  into  the 
world,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  has  risen,  and  his  rays 
now  pierce  through  the  whole  establishment  of  gospel 
cleansing,  as  rays  of  light  pervade  a  vessel  of  glass. 

This  sea  of  glass  is  before  the  throne  of  God,  as  the 
ministrations  of  grace  are  under  the  special  eye  of  Hea- 
ven,— as  God  dwells  in  Zion, — and  as  he  engages  his 
special  presence  in  all  Christian  assemblies  for  worship. 

The  brazen  sea  of  old  stood  on  twelve  brazen  oxen  ; 
three  of  them  facing  each  cardinal  point  of  the  com- 
pass. We  have  here  a  lively  emblem  of  the  twelve 
apostles,  setting  their  faces  in  every  direction,  to  carry 
the  gospel  through  the  earth ;  and  in  this  employment 
their  successors  were  to  follow  them,  down  to  the  end  of 
the  world. 

We  accordingly  Jnnd  in  the  text,  emblems  of  the  am- 
bassadors of  Christ,  as  though  annexed  to  this  sea  of 
glass ;  even  as  the  old  brazen  sea  stood  upon  its  twelve 
oxen.  These  ambassadors  are  now  denoted  by  four  liv- 
ing creatures,  instead  of  the  twelve  brazen  oxen  ;  one  now 
for  each  point  of  the  compass.  They  are  rendered  in 
our  text  four  beasts  ;  which  rendering  is  very  unhappy. 
The  word  in  the  original  is  zoa,  from  zoo,  to  live  ;  and 
should  have  been  rendered  living  creatures.  Gospel  min- 
isters are  here  denoted  by  these  emblems,  instead  of  by 
brazen  oxen,  as  of  old — connected  with  the  emblems  of 
cleansing  grace.  The  word  in  this  book  rendered  beasts, 
is  theria.  (Chap.  xiii.  1-10.  and  xvii.  3.)  That  these  four 
G 


74  LECTURE    V. 

living  creatures  are  emblems  of  the  ambassadors  of  Christ, 
is  evident  from  the  following  things ;  they  belong  to  the 
fallen  race  of  man  ;  for  they  were  redeemed  by  the  blood 
of  Christ.  See  chap.  v.  8-10;  where  the  four  living 
creatures,  and  the  elders  (lay  members  of  the  church)  de- 
voutly prostrated  themselves  before  Christ,  saying,  "  For 
thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood 
out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation, 
and  hast  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  our  God,  and  we 
shall  reign  on  the  earth."     "  Thou  hast  redeemed  us  /" 

Certainly,  then,  they  are  men,  and  not  angels.  We  re- 
peatedly find  that  the  angels  are  mentioned  besides 
them,  and  distinct  from  them,  as  chap.  v.  11.  and  vii.  11. 
"  I  beheld  and  heard  the  voice  of  many  angels  round  about 
the  throne,  and  the  living  creatures,  and  the  elders." 
They  are  ever  distinguished,  too,  from  the  common  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  known  as  the  elders. 

Under  the  seals,  in  chap,  vi.,  as  new  events  of  Pro- 
vidence unfold,  each  in  turn  of  these  living  creatures 
says,  "  Come  and  see  !"  q.  d.  "  Come,  behold  the 
works  of  the  Lord !"  This  is  a  part  of  the  employ- 
ment of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The  connexion 
of  these  living  creatures  with  the  sea  of  glass,  as  the 
twelve  oxen  were  connected  with  the  brazen  sea  of 
old,  suggests,  that  they  denote  the  same  characters, — the 
ambassadors  of  Christ.  And  the  employments  of  these 
emblems  decide  the  same  thing :  for  they  are  found  (in 
verse  8-1 1,  of  our  context)  leading  the  common  members 
of  the  church  in  the  worship  of  God. 

These  emblems  of  the  ministry  are  said  to  be  "  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne,  and  round  about  the  throne  !"  indi- 
cating their  nearness  to  God,  and  his  care  of  them.  The 
following  words  of  Christ  to  his  ministers,  give  the  true 
sense  of  their  being  in  and  roujid  about  the  throne  ;  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  always."  "He  that  receiveth  you  receiv- 
eth  me  :  but  he  that  despiseth  you  despiseth  me."  These 
stars  of  Zion  our  Saviour  holds  in  his  own  right  hand, 
while  he  walks  in  the  midst  of  his  golden  candlesticks — 
the  churches. 

The  text  assures  that  Uiese  emblems  of  the  ministry 
are  "  full  of  eyes  before  and  behind,"  which  are  signifi- 
cant of  their  correct  knowledge,  and  holy  vigilance,  to  ex- 
amine all  tilings  both  before  them,  and  after  them. 


CHAPTER    IV.  75 

Ver.  7.  And  the  first  beast  was  like  a  lion,  and  the 
second  beast  like  a  calf,  and  the  third  beast  had  a 
face  as  a  man,  and  the  fourth  beast  was  like  a  flying 
eagle. 

We  have  here  the  various  gifts  of  the  ministers  of  Christ. 
We  find  that  these  gifts  are  often  noted  in  different  scrip- 
tures :  "  And  he  gave  to  some  apostles,  and  some  pro- 
phets, and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors,  and  teach- 
ers." And  again,  "  All  things  are  yours,  whether  Paul, 
or  Apollos,  or  Cephas  ;"  meaning  the  different  gifts  of  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel. 

The  first  class  in  the  text,  are  like  a  lion, — bold,  un- 
daunted, as  well  as  strong.  The  second  like  a  calf,  or 
a  young  ox  ;  alluding  to  the  brazen  oxen  under  the  sea 
in  the  temple  of  Israel,  "  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the 
mouth  of  the  ox ;"  or  shalt  support  the  ministry.  This 
second  class  of  these  emblems  denotes  a  class  of  minis- 
ters patient,  strong,  and  though  not  brilliant,  yet  profitable, 
means  of  great  good  in  God's  husbandry.  The  third  em- 
blem, with  tlie  face  of  a  man,  may  denote  ministers  who 
are  argumentative,  deep,  perhaps  very  humane.  The 
fourth  like  a  flying  eagle,  swift  of  flight;  of  piercing 
vision  ;  passing  fearlessly  over  deserts,  mountains,  lakes  ; 
towering  toward  heaven,  and  flying  to  difl"erent  regions. 
This  emblem  may  remind  us  of  the  flights  of  missiona- 
ries,— some  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Ver.  8.  And  the  four  beasts  had  each  of  them  six 
wings  about  him  ;  and  they  were  full  of  eyes  within  ; 
and  they  rest  not  day  and  night,  saying.  Holy,  holy, 
holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  was,  and  is,  and  is 
to  come. 

Their  six  wings  a-piece  assure  us  of  their  alacrity  in 
duty;  that  true  ministers  fly  in  swift  obedience  to  their 
Lord  and  master  ;  as  saiih  Isaiah,  "  Here  am  I,  Lord  ; 
send  me  !"  and  Paul,  "  For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth 
us." 

Their  being  "  full  of  eyes  within,"  indicates  their  gra- 
cious self-knowledge,  and  vigilandy  keeping  their  own 
hearts,  as  well  as  cultivating  their  mental  powers. 


76  LECTURE    V. 

Their  resting  not  day  nor  night,  saying,  "  Holy,  holy, 
holy" — is  most  significant.  They  are  themselves  holy  ! 
"  Be  ye  clean,  who  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord."  One 
great  business  of  their  lives  is  to  proclaim  the  holy  God, 
and  the  holiness  of  God,  as  well  as  to  call  on  men  to  be 
holy.  Let  the  following  hints  illustrate  this.;  "  1  ceased 
not  to  warn  every  man,  night  and  day,  whh  tears."  "  I 
have  set  watchmen  on  thy  walls,  0  Jerusalem,  who  will 
never  hold  their  peace,  day  nor  night." 

Their  saying,  holy,  holy,  holy,  is  thought  by  some  to 
allude  to  the  eternal  Tlrree  in  0;ie,  in  Him  who  is,  and 
was,  and  is  to  come  !  that  each  in  this  infinite  three  is 
superlatively  holy  ! 

Ver.  9.  And  when  those  beasts  give  glory  and 
honour  and  thanks  to  him  that  sat  on  the  throne, 
who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 

10.  The  four  and  twenty  elders  fall  down  before 
him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  and  worship  him  that  liv- 
eth for  ever  and  ever,  and  cast  their  crowns  before 
the  throne,  saying, 

11.  Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory 
and  honour  and  power:  for  thou  hast  created  all 
things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were 
created. 

The  ministers  of  Christ  lead  in  the  holy  worship  of 
God  ;  and  the  churches  unite  in  the  same. 

'J  he  casting  of  their  crowns  at  God's  feet,  denotes  their 
most  feeling  and  devout  confession,  that  all  their  salva- 
tion, from  its  origin  to  the  crown  of  glory,  is  of  the  most 
free  and  sovereign  gift  of  God. 

One  argument  used  by  them  is  powerful  indeed — 
that  God  made  all  things,  and  this  according  to  his  own 
pleasure  !  While  hypocrites  and  sinners  contend  with 
the  Divine  sovereignty;  the  true  people  of  God  adore 
him  in  it,  and  rejoice  that  "the  Lord  God  Omnipotent 
reigneth  !" 

May  ministers  and  churches  be  ever  deeply  impressed 
with  a  view  of  the  great  exaltation  and  responsibility  of 
their  character  and  standing.  Verily  their  duties,  at  such 
a  day  as  this,  are  great  and  urgent  1 


CHAPTER    V.  77 

What  must  the  many  eyes  of  the  ministers  of  Christ, 
(eyes  before  and  behind,  and  within)  discover,  at  this  age 
of  infidelity  and  of  licentiousness  !  May  all  Christ's  min- 
isters clearly  discern  the  signs  of  the  times — what  is  do- 
ing— and  what  ought  to  be  done !  If  ever  wakefulness 
and  faithfulness  were  important,  they  are  now  important ! 

In  the  midst  of  the  terrors  of  the  times,  just  antece- 
dent to  the  Millennium,  let  it  be  remembered,  that  faith- 
ful ministers,  and  Christ's  churches  are  round  about  the 
throne  !  God  is  near,  and  with  them,  with  the  rainbow  of 
his  covenant  faithfulness,  which  will  not  fail  of  bringing 
salvation  to  Zion,  and  desolation  to  her  enemies.  They 
"  that  be  with  us,  are  more  than  they  that  be  with  them." 
"  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength  !" 


CHAPTER    V. 

Having  thus  far  exhibited  the  actors  of  the  scenes  to 
be  unfolded  ;  another  preparatory  scene  is  now  introduced. 
A  lively  exhibition  must  now  be  given  of  ihe  fact,  that  no 
revelation  of  mercy  could  be  given  from  God  (after  man's 
apostacy),  and  no  merciful  predictions  of  future  events, 
but  by  an  infinite  Mediator.  All  the  gracious  communi- 
cations which  had  been  made  in  the  Old  Testament, 
from  the  beginning,  of  the  doctrines,  duties,  and  motives 
of  salvation,  in  the  prophecies  and  promises,  had  been 
made  only  in  anticipation  of  a  Saviour  to  come.  And  of 
this,  a  clear  decision  must  now  be  given,  before  entering 
on  the  revelation  of  scenes  of  futurity.  No  such  gracious 
revelation  from  God  to  man  could  have  been  made,  after 
the  fall  of  man,  but  through  one  mighty  to  save.  And  a 
council  must  here  be  represented  as  held  in  heaven,  to 
see  if  such  a  Saviour  could  be  found,  and  hence  such  an 
unfolding  of  the  salvation  made  !  With  this  view  we  are 
prepared  to  attend  to  this  chapter. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  of  him  that 
sat  on  the  throne  a  book  written  within  and  on  the 
back  side,  sealed  with  seven  seals. 

God  on  the  throne  holds  a  book  in  his  right  hand — a 
book  not  of  modern,  but  of  ancient  form.  The  form  of  books 
G2 


78  LECTURE  r. 

in  ancient  days,  was  a  leaf  (either  a  parchment,  or  the 
rind  of  papyrus,  or  some  fit  substance),  written  some- 
times on  both  sides,  as  in  the  case  of  Ezekiel's  roll ;  but 
usually  on  but  one  side,  and  rolled  up,  the  writing  inward. 
If  they  had  matter  for  more  than  one  leaf,  they  would 
write  it  on  another  leaf,  and  roll  it  over  the  first ;  then 
another ;  and  so  on,  to  any  amount.  Such  a  book 
is  seen  in  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father,  con- 
sisting of  seven  leaves,  thus  written  on  the  inside,  rolled 
over  each  other,  and  sealed  on  the  last  edge  of  each  leaf, 
so  that  it  was,  in  a  sevenfold  degree,  a  sealed  hook. 

The  text  seems  to  tell  us,  that  each  leaf  was  written 
on  both  sides  ;  but  the  best  expositors  agree  that  this  is  not 
the  sense  of  the  passage.  This  erroneous  sense  is  given 
only  by  placing  a  comma  in  the  passage  where  it  does 
not  belong.  The  pointings  of  the  Bible  are  of  human  in- 
vention ;  as  are  other  parts  of  grammar.  This  passage 
is  mistakingly  so  pointed  as  to  read  thus :  written  within 
and  on  the  back  side,  sealed  with  seven  seals !"  whereas 
the  true  reading  is  as  follows  :  "  written  within^ — and  on 
the  back  side  sealed  with  seven  seals."  The  whole  ac- 
count shows  this  to  be  the  true  reading ;  for  the  book  was 
sealed,  and  no  part  of  its  writing  could  have  been  de- 
signed to  be  seen  till  its  seal  was  broken,  and  its  leaf 
unrolled  by  a  person  able  to  accomplish  it.  This  sealed 
book  was  an  emblem  of  events  then  future,  designed  for 
the  salvation  of  the  church. 

Ver.  2.  And  I  saw  a  strong  angel  proclaiming  with 
aloud  voice,  Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  book,  and  to 
IcJose  the  seals  thereof? 

3.  And  no  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth,  neither 
under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open  the  book,  neither 
to  look  thereon. 

The  question  of  infinite  interest  to  a  fallen  world  was 
to  be  decided  ;  could  there  be,  in  the  case  of  fallen  man, 
any  hope,  so  that  salvation,  and  a  merciful  unfolding  of 
future  scenes,  could  be  given  ?  The  inquiry  seems  great 
and  public^  made  by  a  strong  angel ;  probably  the  greatest 
agent  in  the  intelligent  creation  ; — q.  d.  Is  any  creature  in 
the  universe  able  to  open  this  book  ? 

And  no  one,  oudeis,  (in  the  original)  meaning  here,  no 


CHAPTER    V.  79 

creature,  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth,  nor  under  the  earth, 
meaning,  living  or  dead, — no  created  being  in  the  uni- 
verse, was  found  able  ;  which  amounts  to  a  divine  deci- 
sion of  most  unusual  formality,  to  the  real  and  infinite 
divinity  of  Christ ;  and  that  none  but  the  infinite  Godhead 
could  furnish  a  Saviour  for  lost  man. 

Ver.  4.  And  I  wept  much,  because  no  man  was 
found  worthy  to  open  and  to  read  the  book,  neither 
to  look  thereon. 

Had  not  one  in  the  infinite  Three  in  heaven  been  found 
disposed  to  undertake ;  all  men  must  have  wept,  and 
wailed,  and  gnashed  their  teeth  in  eternal  wo ! 

But  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  found  and  presented 
one  both  able  and  willing  to  undertake,  and  to  accomplish. 

Ver.  5.  And  one  of  the  elders  saith  unto  me, 
Weep  not :  behold,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,  the 
Root  of  David,  hath  prevailed  to  open  the  book,  and 
to  loose  the  seven  seals  thereof. 

"  The  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah." 

The  old  rabbinical  legend  relative  to  the  four  standards 
of  the  camp  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  of  which  that  of 
Judah  was  a  lion,  may,  or  may  not  be  true.  But  it  is  by 
no  means  so  satisfactory  an  origin  of  the  figure  in  the  text, 
as  is  the  following :  viz.  Jacob,  when  he  was  about  to  die, 
and  was  inspired  to  foretell  the  destinations  of  his  sons, 
speaks  of  Judah  (from  whom  Christ,  in  his  humanity, 
came,)  as  an  "  old  lion  /"  This  appellation,  then,  naturally 
descended  to  Christ ; — "  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  !" 

One  of  the  elders, — representatives  of  the  church  on 
earth, — communicates  this  blessed  information  of  the  Sa- 
viour. It  might  seem  to  human  wisdom,  as  though  some 
favoured  angel,  or  at  least  one  of  the  emblems  of  gos- 
pel ministers,  would  be  commissioned  to  give  this  informa- 
tion. But  it  is  otherwise  !  It  must  be  one  of  the  elders  ! 
— a  common  member  of  the  church  !  Was  this  designed 
to  hint  that  Adam  had  been  the  honoured  aorent  to  mve 
mformation  to  his  fallen  race  of  the  blessed  heavenly 
secret,  that  a  Saviour  was  found  for  lost  man  ?  that  the 
seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head? 


80  LECTURE    V. 

Whether  this  be  here  meant  or  not ;   so  the  thing  was,  in 
fact ;  as  we  find  in  the  history  of  ancient  Paradise. 

Ver.  6.  And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  and  of  the  four  beasts,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
elders,  stood  a  Lamb,  as  it  had  been  slain,  having 
seven  horns  and  seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven 
Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  into  all  the  earth. 

The  beloved  disciple  now  looked,  with  solicitous  expec- 
tation, to  see  this  wonderful  "  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  /" 
And  he  beheld  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  of  the  em- 
blems of  the  gospel  ministry,  and  those  of  the  private  fol- 
lowers of  Christ,  a  Lamb!  as  having  been  slain,  and 
recovered  again  to  life !  When  people  look  for  great 
things  in  religion,  they  are  often  disappointed,  in  finding 
what  appears  at  first  small.  The  Lord  is  not  in  the  fire, 
nor  in  the  strong  wind,  nor  in  the  earthquake :  but  in  the 
still  small  voice ! 

Both  the  lion  and  the  lamb  are  notable  emblems  of 
Christ,  in  our  holy  oracles.  And  the  position  of  this 
Lamb,  hints  to  us,  that  Christ,  through  God,  is  ever  in 
the  midst  of  his  ministers  and  churches,  even  while  he  is 
on  the  throne  of  the  universe  ;  and  he  holds  his  stars  in 
his  right  hand.  The  seven  horns  of  this  Lamb  are  em- 
blems of  his  omnipotent  power.  His  seven  eyes  are 
emblems  of  his  omniscient  wisdom  ;  and  also  of  his  hav- 
ing, at  his  official  direction,  the  Holy  Ghost  in  all  his 
multiform  gifts,  and  gracious  operations,  for  the  salva- 
tion of  Zion. 

Ver.  7.  And  he  came  and  took  the  book  out  of  the 
right  hand  of  him  that  sat  upon  the  throne. 

8.  And  when  he  had  taken  the  book,  the  four 
beasts  and  four  and  twenty  elders  fell  down  before 
the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them  harps,  and 
golden  vials  full  of  odours,  which  are  the  prayers  of 
saints. 

Christ  took  the  book  from  the  Father.  The  Father 
ofl[icially  communicates  to  the  Son  all  he  has  to  do  as 
Mediator.     It  is  in  this  oflicial  sense  that  Christ  says. 


CHAPTER   V.  81 

"  The  Father  is  greater  than  I."  And  the  business  of  both 
revealing,  and  fulfiUinjr  the  decrees  of  God,  is  thus  taken 
by  the  Son  from  the  Father.  And,  in  view  of  such  a  Sa- 
viour, and  of  the  economy  of  divine  grace  tow^ards  men  in 
him,  Christ's  ambassadors,  and  his  whole  church,  prostrate 
themselves  before  God  and  the  Lamb,  in  the  most  humble 
adoration,  praise,  and  holy  obedience.  The  harps  in 
their  hands  are  emblems  of  their  actual  preparation  for  the 
business  of  praise  and  holy  worship,  either  with  or  without 
instruments  of  sacred  music  to  aid  their  voices.  And  their 
golden  vials,  or  cups,  full  of  the  prayers  of  the  saints, 
assure  us,  that  the  true  people  of  God  praymuch  I  Their 
vials  are  not  merely  half  filled,  but  they  are  full  I  And 
we  here  learn  that  their  prayers  are  odours^  in  a  twofold 
sense ;  or  both  as  coming  from  hearts  truly  grateful, 
graciously  contrite,  and  sincere  ;  and  as  being  performed 
with  the  incense  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  powerful  interces- 
sion. 

Ver  9.  And  they  sung  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou 
art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open  the  seals 
thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to 
God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,  and  nation  ; 

10.  And  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and 
priests  :  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth. 

The  song  of  salvation  by  Christ  is  and  eternally  will 
be  new ;  as  it  will  for  ever  excite,  in  the  souls  of  the  re- 
deemed, new  wonders  and  joys  ;  and  will  never  appear 
old,  nor  in  the  least  degree  irksome. 

We  read  of  a  new  commandment,  as  given  to  Chris- 
tians, that  they  "love  one  another  !" 

This  is  the  same  commandment  which  they  had  from 
the  beginning  ;  but  it  is  called  new,  because  attended  with 
new  light  and  obligations  under  the  Christian  dispensation. 

Upon  the  same  principle,  the  songs  of  praise  to  God 
for  the  salvation  by  Christ  will  appear  new^  in  eternal 
ages.  Those,  then,  who  become  tired  of  their  religion, 
have  never  learned  the  new  song  of  redeeming  grace  in 
our  text. 

The  fact  here,  that  the  four  living  creatures  and  the 
elders,  unite  in  ascribing  their  redemption  to  the  blood  of 


82  LECTURE    V. 

Christ,  further  decides,  that  both  do  indeed  belong  to  the 
human  family. 

And  God  sees  fit  to  employ  these  two  sets  of  emblems 
to  denote  his  true  people  on  earth,  consisting  of  his  am- 
bassadors, and  the  other  members  of  his  church.  Such  is 
the  distinction  which  God  makes  between  the  ambassa- 
dors of  Christ,  and  other  Christians.  But  they  both  adore 
and  praise  God  that  he  hath  not  only  redeemed  them,  but 
has  made  them  kings  and  priests  unto  himself.  Levites 
and  priests  were  types  of  Christians  under  this  last  dis- 
pensation. And  inspiration  sees  fit  to  prefix  here  the  title 
of  knigs  also  ;  making  them  a  royal  priesthood  .  Chris- 
tians are  priests,  as  being  consecrated  entirely  to  God  in 
the  temple  of  the  gospel ;  and  as  being  prepared,  by  grace, 
to  off'er  to  God  holy  and  daily  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  him 
by  Jesus  Christ.  And  they  are  kings,  as  governing  them- 
selves by  the  Divine  direction,  and  as  having  holy  fellow- 
ship with  Christ  in  his  government  of  the  world. 

"  And  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth."  In  the  Millennium, 
Christ  will  reign  on  the  whole  earth  ; — not  visibly  : — but 
spiritual,  and  in  the  hearts,  and  the  holy  faith  of  the  world 
of  people. 

And  the  reigning  of  the  saints  on  the  earth  will  be,  not 
by  any  literal  resurrection  of  those  who  have  died  ;  but 
by  a  blessed  participation  of  the  whole  family  of  the  saints 
(in  heaven,  and  on  earth)  with  Christ  in  his  millennial  reign. 

The  saints  in  glory  will  see,  and  know,  that  the  blessed 
cause,  in  which  their  hearts  were  bound  up,  both  living,  and 
dying,  now  fills  the  world  !  and  this  fact  will  add  new  joys 
to  their  heavenly  glory.  And  also  the  saints  on  earth  will, 
at  that  time,  have  such  fellowsliip  with  Christ  in  his  reign 
of  grace,  that  they  too  may  be  said  to  reign  on  the  earth  ! 

Ver.  11.  And  I  beheld,  and  I  heard  the  voice  of 
many  angels  round  about  the  throne,  and  the  beasts 
and  the  elders:  and  the  number  of  them  was  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thou- 
sands ; 

12.  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power,  and  riches, 
and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and 
blessing. 


CHAPTER   r,  83 

13.  And  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and 
on  the  earth,  and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in 
the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I  saying, 
Blessing,  and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto 
him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb 
for  ever  and  ever. 

14.  And  the  four  beasts  said,  Amen.  And  the 
four  and  twenty  elders  fell  down  and  worshipped  him 
that  iiveth  for  ever  and  ever. 

A  grand  chorus  here  arises  from  all  creation,  except 
from  the  world  of  despair  ! — from  the  holy  angels  ; — from 
all  the  ambassadors  of  Christ; — and  all  his  followers, 
amounting  to  millions  innumerable  !  The  ministers,  and 
people  of  Christ  are  distinguished  in  this  grand,  universal 
chorus,  as  being  the  people  more  immediately  interested, 
having  been  redeemed. 

In  this  grand  H alleluia,  Christ  is  expressly  worshipped, 
and  adored,  and  this  too,  in  the  most  ample  and  rich  profu- 
sion of  expressions  of  wonder  and  adoration.  And  the 
scene  closes  with  a  renewed  burst  of  rapture  from  the 
redeemed.  The  ambassadors  of  Christ  exclaim,  Amen  ! 
— a  term  of  adoring  acquiescence  ! — and  a  token  for  others 
to  follow.  Upon  which  the  whole  church  fall  down  and 
worship. 

Most  rick  is  this  chapter  in  instruction,  and  in  practical 
reflections. 

The  opening  of  the  way  of  gracious  communication  from 
Heaven  is,  for  lost  man,  a  theme  of  immortal  wonder  and 
praise.  And  it  is  a  subject  worthy  of  all  acceptation  and 
improvement.  And  great  indeed  must  be  the  folly,  guilt, 
and  self-ruin  of  neglecting  it. 

The  thought  of  the  ministers  and  people  of  Christ  being 
in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  round  about  the  throne, 
furnishes  a  most  commanding  motive  to  gratitude  and 
Christian  faithfulness.  An  ancient  prophet  assures  us, 
"Jerusalem  shall  be  called  the  throne  of  God."  And 
another ;  "  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her ;  she  shall  not  be 
moved  !  God  shall  help  her,  and  that  right  early  !"  God 
governs  the  world  for  her  salvation.  May  Cliristians  more 
diligently  learn  the  new  song  of  redeeming  grace ;  and 
never  become  weary  of  it ! 


84  LECTURE    V. 

The  idea,  ^'- And  u^e  shall  reign  on  the  eo.rth.,''^  is  com- 
manding ;  and  should  ever  awaken  in  Christians  new  and 
holy  zeal.  Their  sea  of  glass  too,  their  luminous  foun- 
tain for  washing  from  all  sin,  should  set  their  souls  in 
holy  fire  of  love  and  gratitude.  We  are  in  ourselves 
defiled  ;  and  our  deep  innate  depravity  too  often  fills  with 
vanity,  folly,  and  guilt.  This  every  true  Christian  daily 
laments  ;  and  he  feels  his  need  of  cleansing  grace  !  and 
blessed  be  God,  our  sea  of  glass  is  ever  at  hand  !  We 
may  there  daily  and  hourly  wash  and  be  clean.  "  Wash 
thy  heart  from  wickedness,  that  thou  mayest  be  saved." 
"The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin!" 

This  sea  for  cleansing  is  not  only  pellucid  ;  but  is  ample 
and  free  for  all.  God's  kings  and  priests  wash  here  with- 
out defiling  the  fountain ;  which  is  ever  clear  as  crystal, 
like  the  w^aters  of  the  river  of  life  in  the  new  Jerusalem. 

O  ye  kings  and  priests  of  the  Lord  ;  dwell  on  the  broad 
and  ample  brims  of  this  sea  of  glass ;  [see  chap.  xv.  2  ;] 
and  keep  yourselves  pure.  It  is  striking  to  find,  that  the 
church,  there,  at  the  opening  of  the  Millennium,  is  noted 
as  standing  on  this  sea  of  glass.  Its  brims  are  so  ample, 
and  firm,  that  all  may,  as  the  kings  and  priests  of  God, 
take  their  station  upon  it,  continually,  to  enjoy  its  waters 
of  salvation. 

They  now  seem  to  have  David's  request  truly  fulfilled 
in  themselves ;  "  One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord ; 
that  will  I  seek  after;  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life  ;  to  behold  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  inquire  at  his  temple."  Let  us  labour,  let  us 
pray,  that  we  may  enjoy  this  blessedness  !  Then  shall  we 
indeed  answer  to  the  description  of  Paul,  "  And  hath  raised 
us  up  together,  and  made  us  to  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  then  may  we  obey  the  fol- 
lowing gracious  direction  ;  "Behold,  bless  ye  the  Lord, 
all  ye  servants  of  the  Lord,  who  by  night  stand  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  !  Lift  up  your  hands  in  the  sanctuary,  and  bless 
the  Lord.  The  Lord,  who  made  Heaven  and  earth,  bless 
thee  out  of  Zion  !" 


LECTURE   VI. 


REVELATION    VI. 

The  way  was  now  prepared  to  commence  the  unfold- 
ing of  events  then  future. 

First  Seal. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  saw  when  the  Lamb  opened  one  of 
the  seals ;  and  I  heard,  as  it  were  the  noise  of  thun- 
der, one  of  the  four  beasts  saying,  Come  and  see. 

Jesus  Christ  broke  the  seal  on  the  last  edge  of  the 
outer  leaf  of  the  book  ;  and,  unrolling  the  leaf,  he  presented 
to  view  its  contents  ;  upon  which,  it  seemed  to  thunder. 
Thunder  is  a  noted  emblem  of  war ;  and  wars  tremen- 
dous were  about  to  commence. 

One  of  the  emblems  of  the  gospel  ministry  officially 
and  audibly  said,  "  Come  and  see  !"  We  here  learn,  that 
when  new  and  interesting  events  take  place,  the  minister 
of  Christ  is  to  call  the  attention  of  his  people  to  them. 
Come,  and  behold  what  God  has  done,  or  is  doing.  "Ye 
can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky ;  how  is  it  that  ye  cannot 
discern  the  signs  of  the  times?"  "None  of  the  wicked 
will  understand;  but  the  wise  will  understand."  Of  the 
wicked.  Inspiration  says,  "  Thy  judgments  are  far  above 
out  of  his  sight."  But  it  is  not  to  be  so  with  the  people 
of  God !  they  are  to  behold  the  fidfilment  of  the  sacred 
scriptures.  Paul  at  Thessalonica  reasoned  three  Sabbath 
days  upon  the  prophecies,  to  show  that  the  events  then 
taking  place  before  their  eyes,  relative  to  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  evangelical  kingdom,  were  but  the  fulfilling  of 
ancient  prophecies  of  these  events. 

Ver.  2.  And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  horse ; 
and  he  that  sat  on  him  had  a  bow  ;  and  a  crown 
was  given  unto  him  :  and  he  went  forth  conquering 
and  to  conquer. 

H 


86  LECTURE    VI. 

We  have  here  a  figurative  view  o? gre^i  judgmejits  and 
mercies,  which  should  distinguish  the  morning  of  the 
Christian  dispensation.  A  white  horse  is  an  emblem  of 
victory  and  triumph.  We  have  in  this  figure  a  striking 
view  of  the  power  of  God  in  destroying  his  enemies,  and 
promoting  his  cause,  which  should  distinguish  that  early 
period. 

This  rider  on  the  white  horse  was,  no  doubt,  an  em- 
blem of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  marching  forth  as  the 
Captain  of  our  salvation.  "The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war." 
"The  Lord  shall  utter  his  voice  before  his  army;  for 
his  camp  is  very  great."  His  crown  is  an  emblem  of  his 
official  glorification ;  and  his  bow,  of  the  weapons  of  his 
indignation.  He  will  give  victory  and  salvation  to  his  fol- 
lowers. His  going  forth,  conquering  and  to  conquer, 
assures  us  of  the  glorious  triumphs  of  his  gospel,  in  the 
ruin  of  its  contending  foes,  and  the  salvation  of  its  friends  ; 
in  the  multitudes  of  its  early  converts,  and  their  stability 
in  the  order  of  the  gospel.  Jesus  Christ  had  predicted 
these  very  triumphs  to  take  place  at  this  time,  when  he 
said  to  his  disciples,  "Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  there  be 
some  standing  here  who  shall  not  taste  of  death  till  they 
see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  his  kingdom."  This  event, 
as  it  took  place  upon  tliat  generation,  was  the  destruction 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  forty  years  after  Christ ;  and  the 
attendant  for  more  extensive  propagation  of  the  gospel. 
These  things  did  indeed  take  place  upon  that  generation 
as  a  mystical  coming  of  Christ.  And  this  twofold  event 
may  be  viewed  as  a  lively  fulfilment  of  the  figure  in  our 
text  under  the  first  seal. 

The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,*  the  Roman, 

*  Should  it  be  objected,  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
Jews,  was  probably  past  when  the  text  was  written  ;  it  may  be 
anwered  that  this,  if  it  were  a  fact,  would  form  no  objection  to  the 
exposition  given.  It  is  a  notable  fact,  in  this  book,  that  when  a 
series  of  events  is  to  be  exhibited,  the  commencement  of  which  is 
already  past  when  the  figure  of  the  series  is  given  ;  the  account 
goes  back  to  the  commencement  of  the  series,  though  it  were  then 
past. 

It  will  be  shown  that  such  liberty  is  repeatedly  taken  in  this  book 
of  pro[)hecies.  The  reason  is  obvious  :  it  is  to  give  the  whole 
series  of  events,  the  commencement  of  which  is  already  past.  No 
objection  can  lie  against  this,  which  is  of  any  avail. 


CHAPTER    VI.  87 

was  an  event  which  would  not  be  overlooked  in  the  com- 
mencement of  the  seals,  where  things  of  great  interest  to 
the  church  were  to  be  given,  from  early  in  the  Christian 
era.  Christ  had  predicted  his  coming  in  the  destruction 
of  the  Jews,  and  in  his  remarkable  propagation  of  his 
gospel,  in  Matt,  xxiv,  Mark  xiii,  and  Luke  xxi.  And  it  is 
most  natural  to  expect,  that  the  series  of  events  in  the 
seals  would  open  with  these. 

The  figure  in  our  text  to  denote  the  going  forth  of 
Christ  as  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  for  the  united  designs 
of  judgment,  and  of  mercy,  are  most  appropriate,  and  are 
well  known  in  the  sacred  oracles.  As  Psalm  xlv.  3-6  : 
"  Gird  thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh,  O  most  mighty,  with 
thy  glory  and  thy  majesty :  and  in  thy  majesty  ride  pros- 
perously because  of  truth,  and  meekness,  and  righteous- 
ness ;  and  thy  right  hand  shall  teach  thee  terrible  things. 
Thine  arrows  are  sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  king's  ene- 
mies, whereby  the  people  fall  under  thee."  Hab.  iii.  3: 
"  God  came  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from  Mount 
Paran.  His  glory  covered  the  heavens,  and  the  earth 
was  full  of  his  praise.  Before  him  went  the  pestilence; 
and  burning  coals  went  forth  at  his  feet.  Thou  didst  ride 
upon  thy  horses,  and  thy  chariots  of  salvation.  Thy  bow 
M^as  made  quite  naked.  The  mountains  saw  thee,  and 
were  troubled  ;  the  deep  uttered  his  voice,  and  lifted  up 
his  hands  on  high  !" 

In  Rev.  xix.  11-14,  we  find  Jesus  Christ  riding  forth 
upon  his  white  horse  of  victory  and  salvation  against  Anti- 
christ, at  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty,  as 
M'ill  be  shown  on  the  passage.  That  passage  and  event 
furnish  us  with  an  argument  in  favour  of  the  exposition 
given  of  our  text.  In  the  text,  Christ  rides  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  infiidel  persecuting  Jews  (the  type  of  Anti- 
christ), and  for  the  subsequent  propagation  of  his  gospel. 
And,  in  the  similar  figure  in  Rev.  xix.,  he  rides  forth  against 
Antichrist  himself,  to  sweep  the  field  of  his  enemies,  and 
prepare  the  way  for  his  ov/n  millennial  kingdom. 

The  two  great  events, — of  ruin  to  the  enemies  of  God, 
and  of  salvation  to  his  friends, — are  usually  found  in  close 
union  through  the  prophetic  scriptures.  Our  blessed 
Lord  w^as  thus  anointed  (Isa.  Ixi.  1,  2  ;)  "to  proclaim  the 
acceptable  year  of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  day  of  vengeance 
of  our  God."     The  figure  in  our  text  accordingly  com- 


88  LECTURE    VI. 

bines  things  upon  this  scale ;  ruin  to  the  hostile  Jews, 
and  enlargement  to  the  Christian  church. 

Christ  rides  forth  "conquering  and  to  conquer!"  The 
King  of  Zion  has  conquered  his  foes,  is  conquering,  and 
will  conquer  them.  And  vain  and  mad  are  the  hopes  of 
his  enemies  for  success  against  him.  As  well  might  stub- 
ble fully  dry  dream  of  vanquishing  a  glowing  furnace,  by 
flinging  itself  upon  it.  God  will  "  go  through,  and  will 
burn  them  together  !"  "  What  do  ye  imagine  against  the 
Lord  ?"  "  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire."  The  Jews 
found  him  to  be  thus  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and 
of  their  commonwealth.  They  were  destroyed  as  being 
antichristian  ;  and  their  destruction  was  a  lively  type  of 
the  final  destruction  of  the  great  Antichrist  in  the  last  days 
before  the  Millennium.  Hence  the  similarity  between  the 
event  in  our  text,  as  type,  and  that  in  Rev.  xix.  as  anti- 
type, as  will  be  seen. 

All  ye  saints  of  the  Lord,  rejoice,  even  in  these  peril- 
ous times  of  the  last  days  !  Your  Captain  of  salvation  is- 
with  you,  conquering  and  to  conquer !  He  cheers  the 
souls  of  his  followers  with  the  kind  address,  "  Fear  not  \ 
It  is  I ;  be  not  afraid."  "  I  will  not  fail  thee,  nor  forsake 
thee." 

Second  Seal. 

Ver.  3.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  second  seal, 
I  heard  the  second  beast  say,  Come  and  see. 

4.  And  there  went  oat  another  horse  that  was  red : 
and  power  was  given  him  that  sat  thereon  to  take 
peace  from  the  earth,  and  that  they  should  kill  one 
another:  and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  great 
sword. 

The  seal  of  the  second  leaf  being  broken,  and  the  con- 
tents presented,  another  emblem  of  the  gospel  ministry 
says,  "  Come  and  see  !"  Each  minister  of  Christ  should 
be  able  to  answer  the  question,  "  Watchman,  what  of  the 
night?"  And  exhibiting  the  signs  of  the  times,  he  should 
in  some  fit  manner  say,  "  Come  and  see  !"  "  Come,  be- 
hold the  v;orks  of  the  Lord." 

This  red  horse  and  his  rider — commissioned  to  take 
peace  from  the  earth,  and  holding  a  great  sword — furnish 


CHAPTER    VIII.  89 

an  emblem  of  another  terrible  scene  of  slaughter  in  the 
empire,  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  com- 
monwealth of  the  Jews,  last  noted.  This  event  of  the 
second  seal  took  place  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperors  Tra- 
jan and  Adrian,  before  the  middle  of  the  second  century. 
The  Jews  had  greatly  multiplied  in  the  empire;  and  the 
Romans,  by  their  idolatrous  worship  of  Jupiter  Capitoli- 
nus,  exasperated  them  to  rage  and  open  rebellion.  And, 
further  to  excite  and  direct  their  rage,  a  pretended  mes- 
siah  arose  at  this  time,  by  the  name  of  Barcocab  (import- 
ing a  son  of  a  star),  giving  out  that  he  was  the  star  that 
was  to  arise,  as  predicted  by  Balaam.  How  signal  was 
this  judgment  upon  the  Jews.  They  had  wilfully  re- 
jected the  true  star  of  Bethlehem,  miraculously  demon- 
strated among  them,  and  now  they  were  given  up  to  fol- 
low an  ignis  fatuus — or  a  glow  worm — simply  because  he 
was  wicked  enough  to  say,  he  was  the  star  to  arise! 
Miserable  deluded  Jews  !  They  must  now  be  visited 
with  another  tremendous  judgment,  in  union  with  the  Ro- 
mans, who  also  had  aided  in  the  death  of  the  Lord  of 
glory. 

The  Jews  in  Egypt  and  Cyprus,  led  by  the  vile  Bar- 
cocab, are  asserted  to  have  slain,  with  vast  cruelty, 
460,000  of  the  people  of  those  Roman  provinces.  This 
excited  against  them  the  vengeance  of  the  empire;  and  of 
the  Jews  there  fell  not  less  thaii  580,000  ;  and  it  is  said  not 
less  than  1000  of  iheir  fortresses  were  destroyed.  Eii- 
sebius  says,  upon  the  events  of  the  times,  "  The  doctrines 
and  church  of  Christ  daily  increased  ;  but  the  calamities 
of  the  Jev;s  were  aggravated  with  new  miseries." 

It  is  striking  to  reflect,  that  the  persecutors  of  Christj 
and  of  his  people,  were  thus  led  to  be  each  other's  execu- 
tioners. We  have  here  then,  an  event  fully  equal  to  the 
emblems  in  this  seal — a  horse  red  indeed  ;  and  its  rider 
wielding  a  great  sword,  and  having  power  to  take  peace 
from  the  earth,  and  that  the  enemies  of  the  gospel  should 
kill  one  another. 

Third  Seal 

Ver.  5.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  third  seal,  I 
heard  the  third  beast  say,  Conne  and  see.     And  1  be- 
held, and  lo,  a  black  horse :  and  he  that  sat  on  him 
had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand, 
H3 


90  LECTURE   VI. 

6.  And  I  heard  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four 
beasts  say,  A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny,  and 
three  measures  of  barley  for  a  penny ;  and  see  that 
thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the  wine. 

On  the  opening  of  the  third  leaf,  a  third  emblem  of  the 
ambassadors  of  Clirist  says,  "  Come  and  see  !"  This 
testimony  to  ministerial  failhfuhiess  must  still  be  given. 
Ministers  must  never  sleep  on  their  posts.  If  they  be- 
come, as  the  prophet  expresses  it,  "  Dumb  dogs  that  can- 
not bark,  sleeping,  ^i'^g  dow?i,  loving  to  slumber  T  God 
will  make  them  '''•contemptible,^''  as  false  teachers. 

This  black  horse  seems  an  emblem  of  deep  afflic- 
tion, and  especially  of  famine. 

In  the  Lam.  v.  iO,  we  read,  "  Our  skin  is  black,  like  an 
oven,  because  of  the  terrible  famine  /"  This  sense  of  the 
figure  is  confirmed  by  the  pair  of  balances  in  the  hand 
of  the  rider,  and  by  the  declaration  in  the  midst  of  the 
four  living  creatures,  emblems  of  the  gospel  ministry — 
"A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny,  and  three  measures  of 
barley  for  a  penny  ;  and  see  that  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  and 
the  wine."  It  is  here  ascertained,  that  the  price  of  a 
day's  work  must  be  given  far  the  usual  allowance  of  food 
for  a  day  !  And  this  little  pittance  must  be  weighed  with 
great  exactness ! 

Those  balances,  and  all  that  is  said,  betoken  famine. 
Ezek.  iv.  16.  "Son  of  man,  behold  I  will  break  the  stafi' 
of  bread  in  Jerusalem,  and  they  shall  eat  bread  by  weight, 
and  with  care  ;  and  they  shall  drink  water  by  measure, 
and  with  astonishment ;  that  they  may  want  bread  and 
water,  and  be  astonished  one  with  another,  and  consume 
away  for  their  iniquity." 

The  church  of  Christ,  during  the  time  of  the  seals  of 
judgment  on  pagan  Rome,  weltered  under  ten  successive 
bloody  persecutions  from  the  pagan  emperors.  In  the 
time  of  the  fourth  persecution,  the  treniendous  famine 
predicted  in  this  seal  took  place,  under  the  reign  of 
the  Antonines.  After  the  horrid  mutual  slaughters  of  the 
Jews  and  Romans  under  the  second  seal,  the  famine  of 
the  third  seal  commenced,  in  the  course  of  the  second 
century.  Tertullian  testifies  of  the  event,  that  a  scarcity 
occurred  in  every  city,  aggravated  with  such  rains  as 
seemed  to  threaten  a  second  deluge.     This  scarcity  oc-» 


CHAPTER    VI.  91 

casioned  great  tumult  in  Rome,  insomuch  that  the  empe- 
ror, Antoninus  Pius,  was  attempted  to  be  stoned.  And  he 
found  himself  obliged  to  open  his  own  treasures  to  sup- 
ply the  hunger  of  his  subjects.  And  this  judgment  con- 
tinued in  the  succeeding  reign  of  Antoninus  the  Philoso- 
pher. The  river  Tiber  overflowing,  deluged  much  of  the 
city  of  Rome — wafting  on  its  surface  people,  cattle,  and 
the  various  ruins  of  the  country,  as  we  find  stated  by 
Eaciiard.  Earthquakes  succeeded,  the  conflagrations  of 
cities,  and  an  infection  of  the  atmosphere.  This  cor- 
rupted the  land  with  infinite  numbers  of  insects,  which 
devoured  what  little  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  remained ; 
"  and  (says  Capitolinus)  produced  the  most  grievous  fam- 
ine." 'I'his  famine  continued  in  the  reign  of  Commodus,  and 
such  was  the  desperation  of  the  people  of  Rome,  that  they 
raised  a  sedition,  and  put  to  death  Oleander,  the  favourite 
of  the  emperor.  Frequent  wars,  scanty  harvests,  ill-man- 
agement of  public  stores,  and  various  disasters,  produced 
the  long  and  deadly  famines  of  those  days,  and  fulfilled 
the  judgments  of  this  seal,  in  the  second  century. 

Fourth  Seal. 

Ver.  7.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  fourth  seal, 
I  heard  the  voice  of  the  fourth  beast  say,  Come  and 
see. 

8.  And  I  looked,  and  behold,  a  pale  horse :  and 
his  name  that  sat  on  him  was  Death,  and  hell  fol- 
lowed with  him.  And  power  was  given  unto  them 
over  the  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  with  sword, 
and  wqth  hunger,  and  with  death,  and  with  the  beasts 
of  the  earth. 

The  contents  of  the  fourth  leaf  were  in  turn  presented. 
The  fourth  ministerial  emblem  calls  the  attention  of  all 
within  hearing,  to  "  Come  and  see."  Thus  all  the  emblems 
of  the  ambassadors  of  Christ,  in  turn,  call  for  attention  to 
the  signs  of  the  times.  No  one  can  be  exempt  from  this 
duty.  And  those  who  from  popular  views  or  slothfulness, 
undertake  to  exempt  themselves,  do  it  at  their  peril,  and 
may  expect  to  be  made  contemptible.  (Matt.  ii.  9.) 

This  leaf  presents  a  pale  horse  ; — an  emblem  of  mortal- 
ity ;  with  one,  by  the  name  of  Death,  seated  upon  him ; 
and  an  emblem  of  hell,  the  place  of  departed  sinners,  (oU 


92  LECTURE    VI. 

lowing  him.  Death  and  hell  to  the  wicked  are  nearly 
allied.  The  former  delivers  over  to  the  latter.  "  The  rich 
man  died,  and  was  buried  ;  and  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
being  in  torment." 

Death  upon  his  pale  horse,  in  this  seal,  has  his  coni- 
mission  from  God,  to  kill  a  fourth  part  of  men  with  some 
of  the  four  usual  means  of  destruction — the  sword,  famine, 
pestilence,  and  beasts  of  prey  !  And  soon  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  third  century,  in  the  midst  of  fiery  persecutions 
of  the  church,  a  new  series  of  divine  judgments  upon  the 
empire  commenced,  answering  precisely  to  this  hiero- 
glyphic. Wars  foreign  and  domestic  raged  ;  thirty  com- 
petitors laid  claim  to  the  imperial  crown  at  once.  Twenty 
actually  reigned  in  the  space  of  sixty  years,  from  Cara- 
calla,  A.  D.  2  1 1,  to  Aurelian,  A.  D.  270.  Most  of  these 
met  with  violent  deaths.  And  the  Persians  and  northern 
nations  hence  gained  no  small  advantage  against  the  em- 
pire. Valerian  was  taken  captive  by  Sapores,  King  of 
Persia,  and  treated  with  much  severity  till  his  death. 
These  wars,  with  civil  contentions,  failed  not  to  produce 
famine ;  which  unseasonable  weather  rendered  severe. 
These  calamities  were  charged  upon  the  persecuted  Chris- 
tians. But  Cyprian  boldly  testified,  that  they  were  di- 
vinely sent,  according  to  the  sacred  predictions  ;  and  were 
inflicted,  not  because  the  Christians  had  rejected  the  idol- 
atries of  Rome,  but  because  the  Romans  refused  the 
worship  of  the  true  God. 

Death  (meaning  pestilence)  was  numbered  among  the 
means  of  mortality  in  this  seal.  And  this  was  fulfilled. 
Zonaras  and  Lipsius  (mentioned  in  Mede,)  inform,  that  a 
pestilence  from  Ethiopia  raged,  for  fifteen  years  together, 
through  the  provinces  of  Rome,  to  their  tremendous  depopu- 
lation. Zonaras  says,  "Gallus,  the  emperor,  was  very  severe 
to  the  Christians ;  many  being  cut  off  by  persecution." 
Then,  (afier  noting  the  invasions  of  the  Persians  in  Armenia ; 
and  almost  innumerable  hordes  of  Scythians  falling  upon 
Italy,  Macedonia,  Thessaly,  and  Greece  ;  and  hosts  from 
the  Palus  Ma^otis,  laying  waste  many  provinces;)  he  says, 
"  the  plague  spread  itself  through  the  whole  east,  and 
west ;  destroying  the  inhabitants  of  many  cities,  and 
ravaging  for  fifteen  years.  Zosimus  declares  the  same  ; 
and  says,  that  "  so  great  a  destruction  of  men  had  never 
before  taken  place."  Eutropius  also  assures  us,  that  in 
the  reign  of  the  Emperors  Gallus  and  Volusian,  "  the 


CHAPTER  VI.  93 

times  were  memorable   for  pestilence  and  grievous  dis- 
tempers  /" 

And  the  invasions  of  wild  beasts,  at  that  period,  were 
tremendous.  An  author  in  Bishop  Newton  informs,  that 
five  hundred  wolves  entered  at  once  into  a  city,  where  the 
emperor,  Maximin  the  Younger  then  was.  And  we  are 
assured,  that  lions  and  tigers  made  war  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants of  different  parts  of  the  empire.  God  thus  visited 
persecuting  Rome,  under  this  seal,  with  his  four  noted 
judgments  ;  as  in  Ezek.  xiv.  27 ;  "  For  thus  saith  the 
Lord  God,  how  much  more  when  I  send  my  sore  judgments; 
the  sword  ;  and  the  famine  ;  and  the  noisome  beast ;  and 
the  pestilence,  to  cut  off  man  and  beast  ?■' 

Fifth  Seal. 

Yer.  9.  And  when  he  had  opened  the  fifth  seal, 
I  saw  under  the  altar  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony 
which  they  held : 

10.  And  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice, saying.  How 
long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and 
avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth? 

IL  And  white  robes  were  given  unto  every  one 
of  them  :  and  it  was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should 
rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until  their  fellow-servants 
also,  and  their  brethren,  that  should  be  killed  as 
they  vjere,  should  be  fulfilled. 

The  four  living  creatures,  emblems  of  the  gospel  minis- 
try, had  all,  in  turn,  called  for  attention,  on  the  unfolding 
of  a  new  scene.  This  therefore  is  not  now  repeated  ; 
but  was  well  understood.  Nine  bloody  persecutions  had 
taken  place,  previous  to  this,  in  the  pagan  Roman  em- 
pire ;  (that  under  Nero,  Domiiian,  Adrian,  the  Antonines 
at  two  periods,  that  under  Maximin,  that  under  Decius, 
that  under  Gallus,  that  under  Volusian,  and  the  ninth  by 
Valerian.)  Thousands  innumerable  had  been  thus  called 
to  seal  their  testimony  with  their  blood.  One  more  tre- 
mendous pagan  persecution  was  now  pending  ;  the  tenth 
and  last,  under  Dioclesian,  which  was  to  continue  ten 
years.  Then  the  pagan  beast  was  to  receive  a  wound  in 
the  head,  and  die  for  a  long  course  of  centuries  ;  as  will 
be  seen  under  the  sixth  seal. 


94  LECTURE   VI. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  fifth  seal  is  opened.  Here 
the  souls,  {psuchas,  lives,  meaning  here  the  blood  of  the  mar- 
tyrs,) under  the  altars,  where  they  had  been  sacrificed,  is 
noted,  in  figure,  as  crying  to  God  for  vengeance.  This 
seems  to  be  in  allusion  to  the  blood  of  the  first  martyr, 
Abel.  "  The  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieih  unto  me 
from  the  ground." 

"  Blood  has  a  voice  to  pierce  the  skies  ! 
Revenge,  the  blood  of  Abel  cries  !" 

The  blood  of  the  millions  of  martyrs,  shed  in  pagan 
Rome,  was  thus  calling  for  justice  on  that  wicked  em- 
pire !  The  inquiry  is  made  by  this  blood,  How  long  vin- 
dictive justice  should  be  delayed  ?  The  reply  informs, 
that  it  must  be  deferred  yet  for  a  time  ;  until  more  of  their 
brethren  (as  though  spoken  to  the  souls  of  these  martyrs), 
about  to  suffer  as  they  had  done,  should  be  thus  united 
with  them.  Their  memories,  in  the  mean  time,  should  be 
blessed  ;  while  their  souls  should  be  peculiarly  exalted  in 
glory.  Which  things  were  denoted  by  white  robes  (em- 
blems of  victory  and  triumph,)  being  given  to  every  one  of 
them  ! 

The  history  of  these  times  gives  the  best  comment  upon 
this  passage.  When  the  nine  persecutions  in  the  empire 
had  taken  place,  as  has  been  noted,  another  furious  one  was 
still  pending:  that  under  the  Emperor  Dioclesian,  which 
was  of  ten  years'  continuance.  As  this  was  approaching, 
the  saints  would  need  the  consolation  furnished  in  our 
text. 

The  events  of  this  seal  furnish  an  implicit  prediction  of 
the  revolution  in  the  lloman  Empire,  which  took  place 
after  the  tenth  persecution,  which  was  then  just  at  the 
door.  In  this,  (which  will  be  given  under  the  next  seal,) 
God  took  signal  vengeance  on  the  pagan  emperors,  and 
their  supporters.  God  would,  in  a  degree,  avenge  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  on  them  who  shed  it,  according  to 
the  cry  in  our  text.  He  would  make,  on  that  generation, 
inquisitions  for  blood,  in  kind  remembrance  of  his  slaugh- 
tered children  :  and  would  do  it  upon  a  greater  scale  than 
in  any  of  the  antecedent  seals.  Great  judgments  had 
already  been  inflicted  on  the  Roman  persecutors,  as  has 
been  shown.  But  these  were  so  small,  compared  with  vvhat 
should  then  take  place,  that  the  martyrs  were,  in  our  text, 


CHAPTER  VII.  95 

represented  as  feeling  themselves  to  be  unavenged.  "  How 
long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  avenge  ?  This 
seems  but  a  note  preparatory  to  what  should  soon  follow. 
And,  as  that  is  expressed  in  figures  which  are  calculated 
to  receive  more  than  one  fulfilment,  (as  may  be  shown  so,) 
the  fifth  seal  may  be  viewed  as  a  kind  of  aw (u\  preparatory 
hint  of  all  the  signal  inquisitions  for  blood,  which  God 
would  institute  before  his  millennial  kingdom  ;  while  yet 
it  had  a  primary  allusion  to  events  then  soon  to  be  accom- 
plished. 

Sixth  Seal. 

Ver.  12.  And  I  beheld,  when  he  had  opened  the 
sixth  seal,  and  lo,  there  was  a  great  earthquake  :  and 
the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the 
moon  became  as  blood  ; 

13.  And  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the  earth, 
even  as  a  fig-tree  casteth  her  untimely  figs,  when 
she  is  shaken  of  a  mighty  wind. 

14.  And  the  heaven  departed  as  a  scroll  when  it 
is  rolled  together ;  and  every  mountain  and  island 
were  moved  out  of  their  places. 

15.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  great 
men,  and  the  rich  men,  and  the  chief  captains,  and 
the  mighty  men,  and  every  bondman,  and  every  free- 
man, hid  themselves  in  the  dens  and  in  the  rocks  of 
the  mountains ; 

16.  And  said  to  the  mountains  and  rocks,  Fall  on 
us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  on 
the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb : 

17.  For  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come ;  and 
who  shall  be  able  to  stand  ? 

This  scene  prefigured  the  revolution  in  the  Roman  em- 
pire (which  took  place  in  the  fourth  century)  from  pagan- 
ism to  Christianity,  under  the  Christian  emperor  Constan- 
tine.  We  have  here  an  avenging  of  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs,  indeed ;  and  given  in  language  borrowed  from 
the  great  judgment  day,  at  the  end  of  the  world  !  I  will 
give  a  concise  history  of  the  scene  to  which  it  primarily 
alluded. 


96  LECTURE    VI. 

About  the  year  320,  soon  after  the  tenth  most  bloody 
persecution  in  the  Roman  empire,  under  the  Emperor 
Dioclesian,  Constanline,  upon  the  death  of  his  father 
Constantius,  came  to  the  imperial  throne.  Galerius,  who 
had  succeeded  Dioclesian,  was  emperor  of  one  part  of 
the  western  branch  of  the  empire.  And  he  was  inclined 
still  to  carry  on  the  Dioclesian  persecution.  But  [le  was 
smitten  with  an  incurable  disease ;  as  also  w^iih  a  con- 
sciousness, that  it  was  from  an  angry  God,  for  his  perse- 
cutions of  the  Christians.  He  hence,  by  a  public  edict, 
put  an  end  to  the  persecution  in  his  part  of  the  empire, 
and  desired  the  Christians  io  pray  for  his  restoration  to 
health  !  But  he  soon  died  !  "  1  will  make  thine  enemies 
come  bending  unto  thee  !"  Maxentius  had  got  himself 
declared  emperor  in  his  stead ;  and  a  large  faction  fol- 
lowed him. 

Constantine  embraced  the  Christian  religion,  and  formed 
a  determination  to  vindicate  it.  He  accordingly  marched 
an  army  against  Maxentius  ;  who  met  him  wiih  an  army 
of  188,000  men.  But,  in  a  great  battle,  Maxentius  was 
defeated;  and  Constaniine  became  sole  emperor  of  the 
west.  In  the  eastern  wing  of  the  empire,  Maximin  and 
Licinius  were  emperors.  The  former  made  war  upon 
the  latter,  but  was  defeated  with  the  loss  of  his  army. 
Maximin,  upon  this  his  defeat,  put  to  death  many  of  his 
pagan  priests  and  soothsayers,  as  impostors,  and  false 
flatterers.  Soon  after,  as  he  was  meditating  another  bat- 
tle with  Licinius,  he  was  divinely  smitten  with  incurable 
torments,  and  blindness,  and  died  in  despair, — confessing 
the  guilt  of  his  hostility  to  the  people  of  God  ! 

Licinius  was  now  the  only  emperor  of  the  east,  as  Con- 
etantine  was  of  the  west.  The  former  was  disposed  yet 
to  carry  on  the  persecution  of  the  Christians.  A  war 
soon  broke  out  between  him  and  Constantine,  in  which 
Licinius  was  utterly  defeated,  and  was  forced  to  flee. 
Again  returning,  he  renewed  the  contest ;  but  was  again 
defeated  with  the  loss  of  100,000  men,  and  himself  taken 
prisoner.  Soon  after,  for  an  attempt  upon  the  life  of  Con- 
stantine, he  was  put  to  death.  Constantine  became  now 
the  sole  en)peror  of  the  whole  empire,  and  removed  the 
seal  of  it  to  Byzantium  in  the  east;  which  he  called,  from 
his  own  name,  Constantinople. 

Constantine  now  new-modelled  the  government  of  the 


CHAPTER    VI.  97 

empire  ;  abolishing  all  the  powers  of  paganism  ;  estab- 
Hshing  Christianity  as  the  religion  of  the  empire  ;  and 
placing  the  administration  of  the  government  in  the  hands 
of  Christian  prefects  !  The  power  of  persecution  was 
now  destroyed.  "  The  great  lights,  so  called,  of  the 
heathen  world,"  says  Bishop  Newton,  "■  the  powers,  civil 
and  ecclesiastical,  were  all  eclipsed  and  obscured.  The 
heathen  emperors  and  Cesars  were  slain  ;  the  heathen 
priests  and  augurs  were  extirpated.  The  heathen  officers 
and  magistrates  were  removed.  The  heathen  temples 
were  demolished ;  and  their  revenues  were  appropriated 
to  better  uses  !" 

Here  the  secular  Roman  beast  received  his  death  wound, 
in  his  sixth — his  imperial — head,  and  died ;  which  death 
was  to  continue  till  these  last  days  ;  when  the  deadly 
wounded  head  was  to  be  healed.  (Rev.  xiii.  3,  12,  14.) 
This  long  interim  was  to  be  occupied  by  the  rise  and 
predominance  of  the  papal  beast ;  as  will  be  shown  on 
Rev.  xiii.  11-18. 

The  figures  in  our  text,  to  denote  this  revolution,  are 
prophetic  and  appropriate.  The  sun  is  a  prophetic  em- 
blem of  emperors  and  kings,  or  of  first  rulers.  The 
moon,  here,  is  a  figure  of  their  armies.  The  stars,  of 
the  various  subordinate  officers  of  a  government.  Hence 
the  darkening  of  the  sun,  the  turning  to  blood  of  the 
moon,  and  the  falling  of  the  stars,  denote  the  various  ter- 
rors of  a  revolution  ;  as  might  be  shown  from  various 
passages  in  the  prophets,  and  especially  in  the  predictions 
of  the  battle  of  the  great  day  ;  of  which  event,  the  judg- 
ment of  the  sixth  seal  was  a  lively  emblem.  Joel  ii.  10  ; 
"  The  earth  shall  shake  before  them,  the  heavens  shall 
tremble ;  the  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  dark  ;  and  the 
stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining."  Isaiah  iv.  4;  "All 
the  hosts  of  heaven  shall  be  dissolved  ;  and  the  heavens 
shall  be  rolled  together  as  a  scroll  ;  and  all  their  hosts 
shall  fall  down,  as  the  leaf  falleth  from  off"  the  vine  ;  as  a 
falling  fig  from  a  fig-tree."  Isaiah  xiii.  10;  "For  the 
stars  of  heaven,  and  the  constellations  thereof,  shall  not 
give  their  light ;  the  sun  shall  be  darkened  at  his  going 
forth  ;  and  the  moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to  shine." 
Such  is  the  language  of  the  prophets,  relative  to  most 
signal  national  judgments.  As  in  the  following :  Isaiah 
ii.  19;  "And  they  shall  go  into  the  holes  of  the  rocks, 
I 


98  LECTURE    VI. 

and  into  the  caves  of  the  earth,  for  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
for  the  glory  of  his  majesty,  when  he  ariseth  to  shake 
terribly  the  earth."  And  Hos.  x.  8  ;  "  And  they  shall 
say  to  the  mountains,  Cover  us ;  and  to  the  hills.  Fall 
on  us." 

Says  the  text,  "  For  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come, 
and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand  ?"  That  revolution  was 
a  great  day  of  God's  wrath  to  the  pagan  empire ;  and  the 
abetters  of  paganism  were  not  able  to  stand.  It  was  also 
a  lively  emblem  and  type  of  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of 
God,  now  not  far  future ;  and  also  of  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  language,  therefore,  which  we  find  appro- 
priated to  the  battle  of  that  great  day,  and  to  the  end  of 
the  world,  was  adopted  by  the  prophetic  Spirit,  and  ap- 
plied to  that  typical  event;  not  that  it  was  an  ultimate 
accomplishment  of  it ;  but  because  it  held  a  conspicuous 
rank  among  the  types  o{  it ;  as  did  also  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  Both  brought  a  day  of  God's  wrath,  indeed, 
upon  anlichristian  enemies  ;  and  afforded  a  solemn  me- 
mento of  the  battle  of  the  great  day,  and  also  of  the  end 
of  the  world  ! 

In  the  event  in  our  text,  the  pagan  Roman  beast  died  I 
In  a  still  greater  fulfilment  of  the  description  there  given, 
or  in  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God,  the  same  beast 
(having  obtained  the  healing  of  his  deadly  wound,  and, 
according  to  another  prophetic  figure,  having  arisen  from 
the  bottomless  pit)  goes  into  perdition  ;  and  sinks,  as  a 
mighty  millstone,  into  the  depth  of  the  sea,  never  to  rise 
again  before  the  Millennium.  (See  Dan.  vii.  11  ;  Rev. 
xix.  19;  xi.  15;  xvi.  17  ;  xiv.  14,  to  end;  and  xviii.  21.) 

In  this  scene,  our  text  will  receive  a  much  more 
striking  fulfilment,  as  to  the  import  and  amount  of  its 
figures,  than  in  the  event  to  which  it  primarily,  and  in 
its  chronological  order,  applies.  The  imagery  of  the 
sixth  seal  is  manifestly  one  of  those  prophetic  descriptions, 
which  allude  to  a  rising  course  of  events,  as  type  and 
antitype,  till  they  are  fully  accomplished  in  that  last  great 
day,  for  which  all  other  days  were  made !  Hence  such 
events  are  noted,  as  a  coming  of  Christ ; — "the  great  day 
of  his  wrath  is  come!"  All  such  antecedent  comings 
of  Christ  are  but  mystical,  and  not  literal ;  and  are  thus 
but  types  of  his  last  and  literal  coming  to  judge  the 
world. 


CHAPTER   VII.  99 

The  six  first  seals  thus  related  to  judgments  on  the 
pagan  Roman  empire.  "  The  sixth  seal  abolished  pagan- 
ism and  planted  Christianity  as  the  nominal  religion  of 
the  empire." 

Viewing  the  event  described  under  the  sixth  seal,  as  a 
type  of  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God,  now  not  far  dis- 
tant ;  its  language  is  of  the  deepest  interest  to  us. 

The  language  of  the  fifth  seal  too,  being  a  note  prepara- 
tory to  divine  inquisitions  for  blood,  is  of  interest  to  this 
generation.  The  earth  is  now  deeply  defiled  with  blood. 
And  even  our  land  is  not  free  from  it.  And  blood,  wan- 
tonly shed,  has  a  voice  calling  for  vengeance,  which  God 
will  not  fail  to  hear,  and  answer.  The  kind  and  solemn 
warning  then,  applies  to  this  very  period, — "  Come  my 
people,  enter  into  thy  chambers."  [See  Isai.  xxvi.  20,  21.] 
Christians,  awake,  and  obey.  And,  O  sinner,  awake! 
fly  from  the  wrath  to  come.  "  Escape  for  thy  life."  It  is 
no  time  to  sleep,  nor  linger,  at  such  a  day  as  the  present ! 


LECTURE    VII. 


REVELATION    VII. 

Six  of  the  seals  having  been  opened,  and  paganism  in 
the  Roman  empire  having  been  subverted,  a  new  era  opens 
upon  the  church.  But  the  empire,  though  now  under  a 
government  nominally  Christian,  had  resting  upon  it  the 
enormous  guilt  of  ten  bloody  persecutions  of  the  followers 
of  Christ;  and  God  had  vengeance  yet  to  take  upon  it. 
A  series  of  judgments  was  now  about  to  commence  upon 
the  empire,  predicted  under  the  figures  of  trumpets,  as 
trumpets  of  old  were  used  to  sound  alarms.  Seven  trum- 
pets of  judgments  were  to  be  blown  by  seven  angels ; 
inasmuch  as  angels  are  ministers  of  Providence,  to  fulfil 
divine  judgments  on  the  enemies  of  God. 

But  some  important  representations  were  first  to  be 


100  LECTURE    VII. 

given  of  the  sealing  grace  of  the  Spirit, — of  the  prevalence 
of  Christian  prayer  in  numerous  conversions, — and  of  a 
deferring  of  pending  judgments  for  this  great  object. 

Ver.  1.  And  after  these  things  I  saw  four  angels 
standing  on  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  holding  the 
four  winds  of  the  earth,  that  the  wind  should  not 
blow  on  the  earth,  nor  on  the  sea,  nor  on  any  tree. 

The  commencement  of  the  judgments  of  the  trumpets  is 
here  denoted  by  winds  that  were  about  to  sweep  the  Roman 
earth,  by  invasions  of  hordes  of  barbarians  from  the  north. 
Winds  are  a  noted  emblem  of  such  judgments;  as  Jer. 
xlix.  38,  "  And  upon  Elam  will  I  bring  the  four  winds  from 
the  four  quarters  of  Heaven  ;  and  will  scatter  them  towards 
all  those  winds ;  and  I  will  send  my  sword  after  them."' 
The  holding  of  such  winds  then,  implies  both  that  the 
judgments  were  coming,  and  that  they  were  to  be  deferred 
for  a  time.  To  give  a  lively  view  of  this,  four  angels  were 
represented  as  standing  at  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the 
compass,  holding  those  pending  winds,  till  the  chosen  of 
God  in  the  empire  should  be  brought  in,  and  sealed  for 
Christ. 

Ver.  2.  And  I  saw  another  angel  ascending  from 
the  east,  having  the  seal  of  the  living  God :  and  he 
cried  with  a  loud  voice  to  the  four  angels,  to  whom 
it  was  given  to  hurt  the  earth  and  the  sea, 

3.  Saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor 
the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God 
in  their  foreheads. 

4.  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them  which  were 
sealed :  and  there  were  sealed  an  hundred  and  forty 
and  four  thousand  of  all  the  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel. 

This  angel  of  mercy  must  have  been  Christ,  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness,  coming  like  the  natural  sun  from  the  east. 
He  had  the  seal  of  the  living  God,  the  power  of  grace  and 
of  life,  which  is  but  the  impression  of  the  moral  image  of 
God  upon  the  soul.     Their  being  said  to  be  sealed  in  their 


CHAPTER   VII.  101 

foreheads,  seems  in  allusion  to  a  custom  of  ancient  times, 
in  which  masters  affixed  some  mark  upon  their  servants, 
to  note  them  as  their  property ; — also  from  the  custom  of 
labelHng  articles,  to  show  to  whom  they  belonged.  The 
chosen  of  God  were  to  be  set  apart  for  him,  by  a  mark 
said  to  be  upon  their  foreheads,  but  really  affixed  to  their 
hearts ;  impressing  there  the  image  of  God ;  bringing 
them  into  the  visible  kingdom  of  God,  under  the  seals  of 
his  covenant. 

This  blessed  operation  must  be  accommodated  with  a 
season  of  peace  ;  as  was  in  fact  the  case  in  the  empire  for 
fifteen  years  after  the  judgment  of  the  preceding  seal ;  and, 
to  a  considerable  degree,  for  forty  years.  In  this  season 
144,000  were  there  converted  to  Christ ;  probably  a  cer- 
tain number  put  for  an  uncertain ; — said  to  be  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel. 

Ver.  5.  Of  the  tribe  of  Juda  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Reuben  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Gad  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand. 

6.  Of  the  tribe  of  Aser  were  sealed  twelve  thou- 
sand. Of  the  tribe  of  Nephthalim  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Manasses  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand. 

7.  Of  the  tribe  of  Simeon  were  sealed  twelve  thou- 
sand. Of  the  tribe  of  Levi  were  sealed  twelve  thou- 
sand. Of  the  tribe  of  Issachar  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand. 

8.  Of  the  tribe  of  Zebulon  were  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Joseph  wej^e  sealed  twelve 
thousand.  Of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  were  sealed 
twelve  thousand. 

The  number  is  the  square  of  the  number  of  the  twelve 
patriarchs,  and  of  the  twelve  apostles,  carried  out  in  thou- 
sands, to  indicate  the  greatness  of  the  number  of  the  con- 
verts of  that  time.  And  these  converted  gentiles  are  noted 
as  being  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  from  the  fact,  that  the  gen- 
tile church  succeeded  the  Jewish  church,  and  are  called 
children  of  Abraham. 

12 


102  LECTURE    VII. 

Ver.  9.  After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a  great  multi- 
tude, which  no  man  could  number,  of  all  nations,  and 
kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the 
throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white 
robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands. 

10.  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Salvation 
to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb. 

After  this,  or  presented  in  vision  as  a  subsequent  event, 
John  beheld  multitudes  innumerable  in  glory,  having  come 
from  every  region  of  the  earth,  and  now  standing  before  the 
throne  of  glory  in  sinless  perfection  ;  and  holding  in  their 
hands  each  a  branch  from  the  palm-tree,  as  an  emblem  of 
victory  over  all  their  enemies,  of  sin,  Satan,  and  the  world. 
These  we  must  view  as  a  prophetic  exhibition  of  the 
amazing  multitudes  who  should,  in  times  then  future,  and 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  be  in  like  manner  sealed,  and 
should  be  brought  to  glory  by  gospel  grace. 

What  follows,  to  the  close  of  the  chapter,  confirms  the 
idea,  that  this  is  a  description  of  the  state  and  glory  of  the 
spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  in  heaven.  Such  a  view 
of  that  state  is  most  delightful  to  the  church  in  all  ages ; 
but  especially  to  the  saints  just  entering  the  scenes  of 
tribulation  then  about  to  be  inflicted  on  the  Roman  earth, 
in  which  good  people  would  not  fail  of  having  some  pain- 
ful participation.  This  vast  company  of  glorified  saints  in 
Heaven  are  presented  as  saying,  with  loud  voices,  "  Salva- 
tion to  our  God,  and  to  the  Lamb."  All  the  glory  of  their 
salvation  they  ascribe  alike  to  the  Father,  and  to  the  Son 
whom  they  worship  as  God. 

Ver.  IL  And  all  the  angels  stood  round  about  the 
throne,  and  about  the  elders  and  the  four  beasts,  and 
fell  before  the  throne  on  their  faces,  and  w-orshipped 
God, 

12.  Saying,  Amen:  Blessing,  and  glory,  and  wis- 
dom, and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and  power,  and 
might,  he  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

The  angels  are  here  noted,  distinctly,  from  the  saints  in 


CHAPTER    VII.  103 

glory,  as  standing  round  the  throne,  and  round  the  elders, 
and  the  four  living  creatures,  and  prostrating  themselves 
before  God  in  the  most  profound  adoration  and  worship. 
They  are  the  guardian  spirits  of  the  saints  :  as  says  In- 
spiration, "  Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth 
to  minister  to  them  that  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation." 

Ver.  13.  And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying 
unto  me,  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white 
robes  ?  and  whence  came  they  ? 

14.  And  I  said  unto  him,  Sir,  thou  knowest.  And 
he  said  to  me,  These  are  they  which  came  out  of 
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

15.  Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God, 
and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple :  and  he 
that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them. 

16.  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any 
more :  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any 
heat. 

17.  For  the  Lamb,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne,  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  liv- 
ing fountains  of  waters :  and  God  shall  wipe  away 
all  tears  from  their  eyes. 

One  of  the  elders  calls  the  attention  of  John  to  this 
heavenly  company ;  asking  who,  and  whence  they  were  ? 
that  their  character  and  state  might  be  thus  drawn  out, 
and  exhibited.  John  refers  the  question  to  the  interroga- 
tor, who  himself  gives  the  reply.  And  the  remark, 
"  These  are  they  that  came  out  of  great  tribulation,"  may 
have  an  emphatic  allusion  to  the  martyrs,  who  had  suf- 
fered in  the  ten  pagan  persecutions.  But  it  must  be 
viewed  as  including  all  martyrs  in  every  age  ;  with  all 
the  glorified  saints  in  heaven,  from  first  to  last ;  especially 
before  the  Millennium.  The  description  substantially  ap- 
plies to  all  in  the  world  of  glory,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  gene- 
ral fact,  that  "through  many  tribulations  the  people  of 
Christ  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  veil  of 
heaven  seems  to  be  drawn  aside,  not  to  exhibit  here  things 
done  on  earth,  as  in  most  of  this  prophecy,  bat  to  exhibit 
the  glorious  state  of  the  saints  above.     Angels  are  dis- 


104  LECTURE  vn. 

tinctly  given  in  their  own  names  ;  as  are  also  the  elders, 
and  the  four  living  creatures ;  denoting  the  church  on 
earth,  and  her  ministers.  But,  distinct  from  all  these,  we 
find  a  company  of  the  human  race  described  as  in  glory ; 
— a  great  multitude  that  no  man  could  number,  of  all  na- 
tions, kindreds,  and  tongues,  standing  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  hold- 
ing palm-branches,  as  emblems  of  victory,  in  their  hands. 
This  view  of  the  redeemed  in  glory  is  most  kindly  given 
as  an  antidote  to  the  church  on  earth  against  the  terrors 
through  which  she  would  have  to  pass,  in  days  of  perse- 
cutions, and  in  all  the  trials  of  life.  It  was  designed  to 
operate  as  a  needful  support  and  consolation  to  the  people 
of  God,  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  the  world.  This 
description  was  designed  to  excite  their  alacrity  in  obe- 
dience, and  in  sufferings  for  Christ's  sake ;  and  it  should 
extinguish  at  once  all  the  vain  hopes  of  men  who  are  not 
willing  thus  to  endure  tribulation  for  their  Lord ;  but 
whose  economy  it  is  to  slide  round  every  cross,  and  to 
make  their  way  through  life  without  having  to  endure  any 
thing  for  him  who  died  for  them  !  Such  fearful  and  self- 
pleasing  souls  are  not  in  the  way  to  be  prepared  to  unite 
in  the  songs  of  those  hosts  in  glory.  It  would  seem 
rather,  that  should  they  be  admitted  among  the  ranks  of 
those  glorified  ones,  they  would  be  ashamed  of  them- 
selves. Whatever  descriptions  of  the  glorified  saints  are 
fomid  in  the  sacred  oracles,  they  may  be  viewed  as  re- 
ceiving their  finishing  touch  in  our  text.  We  have  here 
their  perfect  holiness,  denoted  by  their  white  robes,  and 
bv  their  being  washed  in  the  blood  of  atonement ;  and 
they  are  satisfied  in  God's  likeness,  in  that  perfect  love 
which  casteth  out  fear.  Their  victory  is  exhibited  by 
iheir  palm-branches  in  their  hands ;  and  they  are  pre- 
sented before  the  throne,  beholding  God  in  Christ,  and 
shouting  their  loud  and  united  praises  for  redeeming  love 
and  salvation.  Their  perfect  services  have  no  interrup- 
tion of  night,  nor  any  alloy  in  that  temple  of  unfading 
glory.  Hunger,  thirst,  and  every  calamity  known  on 
earth,  are  now  for  ever  banished,  wiiile  they  enjoy  the 
presence  and  fulness  of  God.  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne,  feeds  them  with  his  heavenly  treasures  ; 
leading  them  unto  fountains  of  living  waters ;  and  wiping 
all  tears  from  their  eyes.     In  these  figurative  strokes. 


CHAPTER    VIII.  105 

every  thing  is  included  Avhich  heaven  can  afford  : — things 
which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  ever 
entered  the  conceptions  of  man. 

Let  the  saints,  in  this  world  of  trials,  often  turn  to  this 
description,  and  be  exceedingly  joyful  in  all  their  tribula- 
tions. May  it  set  their  souls  on  a  holy  fire,  and  lead  the 
children  of  God  to  triumph  over  the  world,  over  sin,  and 
Satan,  and  every  foe,  while  they  most  diligently  pursue 
the  path  of  duty.  Let  timorous  souls  gird  up  the  loins 
of  their  minds,  and  be  bold  soldiers  of  the  cross,  for 
Christ  and  the  great  salvation !  for  in  due  time  all  shall 
reap  who  faint  not. 


REVELATION    VIII. 

Seventh  Seal. 

Ver.  L  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal, 
there  was  silence  in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half 
an  hour. 

This  seal  was  not,  like  its  predecessors,  to  contain 
some  precise  event ;  but  it  was  to  contain  all  the  trumpets, 
or  seven  successive  judgments,  which  would  occupy  the 
time  following  the  sixth  seal ;  or  from  about  the  middle 
of  the  fourth  century,  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day,  and 
the  Millennium. 

The  silence  in  heaven  of  half  an  hour  upon  the  open- 
ing of  this  seal,  may  denote  the  awe  and  the  suspense  oc- 
casioned by  ihe  expectation  of  great  things,  but  which 
were  not  yet  discovered.  Place  yourself  before  a  scene 
about  to  be  opened,  though  now  hid  from  your  sight. 
Suppose  your  expectations  to  be  highly  raised  relative  to 
the  things  next  to  be  exhibited.  After  a  little  waiting,  the 
curtains  are  drawn  aside  ;  but  you  at  first  perceive  no 
definite  object;  yet  are  confident  something  will  soon  be 
presented.  What  would  be  your  state  ?  It  would  be  a 
state  of  breathless  silence  !  no  motion,  no  whisper,  no 
loud  breathing !  So  it  is  in  our  text :  and  half  a  pro- 
phetic hour  passes  in  this  silent  suspense  without  being 
able  to  learn  what  is  to  be  exhibited.  What  is  here  im- 
plied ?  that  something  great  was  soon  to  burst  upon  their 
sight ;  also  that  it  was  something  not  to  be  soon  finished, 


106  LECTURE    VII. 

as  were  the  scenes  of  the  antecedent  seals ;  but  should 
occupy  a  length  of  time.  The  distinct  series  of  things  of 
nearly  1600  years,  was  then  about  to  commence;  and  no 
wonder  that  half  an  hour  should  be  devoted  to  breathless 
silence,  and  anxious  expectations,  before  any  thing  dis- 
tinct should  be  presented. 

Ver.  2.  And  I  saw  the  seven  angels  which  stood 
before  God ;  and  to  them  were  given  seven  trunnpets. 

This  silent  interval  was  succeeded  by  the  coming  forth 
of  seven  angels,  to  each  of  whom  was  given  a  trumpet, 
an  emblem  of  the  judgment  which  was  to  be  by  him  exe- 
cuted. But,  previously  to  the  first  of  these  angels  com- 
mencing his  work  of  judgment,  a  bright  representation 
was  to  be  given  of  the  reality  and  the  prevalence  of  the 
intercession  of  Christ  for  the  saints  ;  and  of  the  accept- 
ableness  of  their  prayers  thus  performed,  and  their  preva- 
lence with  God. 

Ver.  3.  And  another  angel  came  and  stood  at  the 
altar,  having  a  golden  censer ;  and  there  was  given 
unto  him  much  incense,  that  he  should  offer  it  with 
the  prayers  of  all  saints  upon  the  golden  altar  which 
was  before  the  throne. 

4.  And  the  smoke  of  the  incense,  which  came 
with  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  ascended  up  before 
God  out  of  the  angel's  hand. 

5.  And  the  angel  took  the  censer,  and  filled  it  with 
fire  of  the  altar,  and  cast  it  into  the  earth :  and  there 
were  voices,  and  thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and  an 
earthquake. 

This  figure  alludes  to  what  we  have  in  the  ceremonial 
law,  Exod.  XXX.  1-10,  where  God  demanded  an  altar  of 
incense  to  be  made,  like  a  table,  twenty-two  inches  square, 
and  forty-four  inches  high,  of  the  most  durable  wood,  such 
as  composed  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  that  type  of  Christ. 
This  ahar  should  be  overlaid  with  pure  gold  ;  and  hence 
it  is  called  in  our  text  the  golden  altar,  and  it  was  placed 
"before  the  veil  that  was  by  the  ark  of  the  covenant  in 
the  holy  place."     The  priests  of  old  were  here  to  make 


CHAPTER    VIII.  107 

atonement  once  a  year,  by  putting   the  blood  of  the  sin- 
offering  upon  it ;  and  he  also  should  burn  incense  upon  it 
every  morning  and  evening,  at  the  time  of  the  morning 
and  evening  sacrifice.     We  find  here  prefigured  both  the 
necessity,  and  the  acceptableness  of  the  blood,  and  the  in- 
tercession of  our  heavenly  High  Priest,  who  has  entered 
for  his  people  into  heaven,  there  to  intercede,  having  once 
shed  his  blood  for  them.     Jesus  Christ  then,  is  this  other 
angel  in  the  text,  who,  in  allusion  to  that  ancient  type,  is 
noted  as   coming  and   standing  by  this  golden  altar,  on 
which  he  offers  much  incense,  with  the  prayers  of  the 
saints  before  the  throne  of  God,  where  the  perfume  of  the 
incense  rises  with  these  prayers  to  render  them  acceptable 
to  God.     This  figure  is  full   of  salvation  and  joy  to  the 
true  people  of  God,  who  are  here  assured  of  the  way  of 
access  to  him,  and    the    acceptance  with  him  of  their 
prayers,  and  gracious  services,  through  the  blood  and  inter- 
cession of  Christ.     It  is  here  implied,  that  the  prayers 
and  services  of  fallen  man,  performed  witliout  an  entire 
reliance    on  Christ,  must  be  of    God  rejected.     Verily, 
that  golden  altar,  with  its  services,  was  a  rich  shadow  of 
good  things  to  come — of  the  salvation  in  Christ  for  all  the 
broken  in  heart.     The  penitent  guilty  soul  may  here  ven- 
ture, with  humble  boldness,  to  the  throne  of  grace.     A 
view  of  the  prevalence  of  such  prayers  and  intercessions 
follows — Christ  casts  to  the  earth,  with  his  censer,  coals 
from  that  golden  altar  where  the  prayers  of  the  saints  had 
thus  been  performed,  and  voices,  thunderings,  lightnings, 
and  an  earthquake  follow  !  which  scene  denotes  the  judg- 
ments then  about  to  commence  under  the  trumpets,  and 
more  remotely,  all  the  judgments  with  which  God  would 
vindicate  his  cause  against  his  enemies ;  these  would  be 
in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  his  people  for  the  salvation 
of  Zion.     The  following  words  of  Christ  illustrate  this 
scene,  "  and  shall  not  God  avenge   his  own  elect,  who 
cry  unto  him  day  and  night,  though  he  bear  long  with 
them?     I  tell  you,  he  will  avenge  them  speedily."     What 
is  said  of  the  two  witnesses  also  illustrates  this  scene: 
"  These  have  power  to  shut  heaven  that  it  rain  not ;  and 
have  power  to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues  as  oft  as 
they  will."     See  also  Psalm  clx.  6-9 ;  Rev.  ii.   26,   27. 
This  figure  assures  us  of  the  prevalence  with  God  of 


LECTURE   VII 
108 


Christian  p-y-  ^0,^-::;  r  :t'""rto°-r. 

^;rele7uag™en.f:fthl  seven  uu^pe.. 

Z'^X  ind  the  seven  angels  ^vhich  had  the  seven 

7    The  first  angel   somiaea,  ^^^,^  ^^g^ 

hail  and  fire  n.ingled  -th^^^^^^^^^^^         trees  was 

Most  or  *e  even.  ^^^^^l«i;--X;X.X 
lar  events,  or  events  poUttcal  ^J  ',  „(  God  in  M- 

bited  here  merely  as  s"<=h,  ^ut  as  „  ^^  ^.^^  ^„^  he 
filment  of  his  word,  m  the  proi  christians  should 

confusion  of  her  e"^"'"''- ,,f  ^heir  devotions,  and  their 
rontemplate  ^X™'. -.raTdtetiorical  national  events 
confidence  in  Cod  ,  eyei  eontemplated. 

of  the  Old  Testament  are  to  d  ^^^^^^  ^^  ^ 

The  events  of  'his  trumpet  a  e  ^^^^^  .^  ^^^^ 

blage  of  figures,  such  as  -«  "^^'^  hecies.  The  earth, 
word  of  God,  ^^P^-^'f  fhose  Tudgments,  means  the  pro- 
which  was  the  seat  of  those  ju  g  ^^^^^  a 

vinces  of  the  Roman  ^^  * '  j^^„;"  The  winds  of  judg- 
country  then  under  '^ons'de'auon.  ^..  j  ,,„,j,ng, 

Tnts,  which  the  fo»";f  ;:;;;:  „„  L  earth  (the  Ro- 
that  they.shouUl  no  to       urn  _^^^  ^^^  ^^^^„  ^^  ,  We 

man  empire  ,  were  nov  ravages.      1  he  im 

regions  of  their  destination  «tt  ^.^^^  ^^^  3^,,p. 

alerv  in  the  text,  to  denote  them,  j„„a,los,  pros- 

S      Storms  of  had,  w.thihtmderai  ,^^^  ^ere 

T:1  and  destroy  '^^  es-^^onjf';;^.^,,,/,^ Woody 
taken  as  fit  emblems  "f  "'''j"' ^"^  ,^  The  prophet  Isaiah 
scenes,  which  waste  '^•^d  des  ro  g^|,„^„,,,,,  k,„g  of 

predicted  the  '"vas.on  ot  Israe  J  ^^^^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^  ^ 
Assyria'  as  Allows  :     sa^xv  ^^  ^  ^^^  f  hail, 


CHAPTER   Vllt.  lOD 

Shalt  be  visited  by  the  Lord  of  hosts  with  thunder,  and 
with  earthquake,  and  great  noise,  with  storm,  and  tempest, 
and  flame  of  devouring  fire." 

In  like  manner  Ezekiel  predicts  the  divine  judgment  on 
the  wall  built  up  with  untempered  mortar.  Ezekiel  xiii. 
23  ;  "  Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  rend  it 
with  a  stormy  wind  in  my  fury  ;  and  there  shall  be  an  over- 
flowing shower  in  mine  anger,  and  great  hailstones  in  my 
fury  to  consume  it." 

The  following  strokes,  in  the  word  of  God,  are  in  the 
same  kind  of  diction  :  "The  Lord  also  thundered,  and 
the  Highest  gave  his  voice,  hailstones,  and  coals  of  fire." 
"  The  Lord  shall  cause  his  glorious  voice  to  be  heard, 
and  shall  show  the  lightning  down  of  his  arm,  with  the 
indignation  of  his  anger,  and  with  the  flame  of  a  devour- 
ing fire,  with  scattering  tempests  and  hailstones."  Says 
Sir  Isaac  Newton,  "  In  prophetic  language,  tempests, 
winds,  or  the  motions  of  clouds,  are  put  for  wars :  and 
thunder,  lightning,  hail,  and  overflowing  rains,  are  put  for 
the  tempests  of  war."  And  he  adds,  "  In  like  manner  an- 
imals, and  the  green  grass,  express  the  beauty  and  fruitful- 
ness  of  the  land  ;  also  trees  signify  people  of  higher  rank  ; 
and  green  grass  people  of  common  condition."  The  fig- 
ures in  our  text  then,  denoted  war,  invasion,  terrible  ravages 
of  the  empire  ;  and  as  hail,  in  those  regions,  usually  came 
from  the  north,  so  those  judgments  should  be  fulfilled,  as 
was  the  fact,  by  invasions  from  the  north.  And  in  the 
histories  of  those  times  we  find  all  this  fulfilled. 

Upon  the  death  of  Constantine,  under  whose  reign  the 
empire  enjoyed  the  peace  noted  by  the  staying  of  the 
winds,  his  three  sons,  to  whom  the  empire  was  divided, 
began  to  contend  ;  they  thus  prepared  the  empire  for  for- 
eign invasion  :  and  the  historic  pages  of  those  times  as- 
sure us  that  barbarians  from  the  north  of  Europe  poured 
forth  like  storms  of  hail  indeed  ! 

Says  Guthrie,  "  Those  fierce  tribes  were  scattered  over 
the  vast  countries  of  the  north  of  Europe,  and  northwest 
of  Asia;  the  subjects  of  the  Russians  and  the  Tartars. 
Great  bodies  of  armed  men,  from  the  vast  and  wild  regions 
of  the  north,  with  their  wives  and  children,  issued  forth 
like  regular  colonies,  in  quest  of  new  settlements  in  the 
south  of  Europe.  New  adventurers  followed  them  ;  and 
the  regions  which  they  deserted  were  occupied  by  more 
K 


J  10  LECTURE    VII. 

remote  tribes  of  barbarians.  These,  in  their  turn,  pushed 
forward  into  more  fertile  countries ;  and  like  a  torrent 
these  numerous  hordes  rolled  onward,  threatening  to 
sweep  away  all  before  them.  The  scourge  of  God,  and 
the  destroyers  of  men,  were  names  by  which  the  most 
noted  of  these  barbarian  chieftains  were  known.  These 
savage  and  furious  hordes  of  human  beings  overran  (as 
is  w^ell  known)  and  settled  in  the  southern  realms  of  Eu- 
rope, and  the  western  branch  of  the  old  Roman  empire. 
The  Suevi  and  Alans  settled  in  Spain  early  in  the 
fifth  century ;  who  soon  after  were  themselves  overrun 
by  the  Goths,  who  captured  Rome,  and  settled  in  Italy. 
The  Franks  soon  after  subdued,  and  settled  in  Gaul,  from 
•whom  it  derived  the  name  of  France.  The  Huns,  about 
the  middle  of  the  fifth  century,  invaded  Hungary,  and  set- 
tled themselves  in  that  region.  The  Gepidae  and  Lom- 
bards planted  themselves  in  Italy.  And  the  Vandals 
crossed  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  and  established  them- 
selves in  the  northern  and  fertile  provinces  of  Africa," 
whence  they  would  be  found  to  fulfil  another  trumpet  of 
divine  wrath,  as  will  appear. 

These  things  fully  answered  to  the  figurative  language 
of  our  text,  and  to  the  time  of  its  events  ;  as  says  Dr. 
Lowman  :  "All  the  Roman  provinces  were  at  once  in- 
vaded, from  the  eastern  lo  the  western  limits  :"  and  Eu- 
tropius  says,  "The  Roman  empire  now  nodded  with  dis- 
tress:" and  Claudianus  (in  Lowman),  "Nothing  but  the 
shadow  of  the  Roman  name  then  remained."  Mr.  Mede 
informs,  that  Alaric,  with  a  huge  army  of  Goths,  and 
others,  broke  into  the  eastern  wing  of  the  empire,  espe- 
cially Macedonia,  sparing  neither  towns  nor  people  :  that 
in  Greece  he  wasted  and  destroyed  with  horrible  car- 
nage ;  carrying  the  same  destruction  into  Epirus,  and 
Acaia,  burning  and  destroying  ! — that  having  thus  ravaged 
in  the  east,  for  five  years,  he  passed  into  the  west,  and 
spread  desolation  far  and  near! — that  after  him,  Mada- 
gaiso,  a  Scythian,  with  an  army  of  200,000  men,  invaded 
the  Venetian  territories,  carrying  slaughter  and  terror! — 
that  a  third  and  more  deadly  army  of  Vandals  and  Alans 
invaded  the  western  wing  of  the  empire,  occasioning  vast 
calamities;  and  that  these  judgments  fulfilled  that  terrible 
storm  of  hail,  mixed  with  fire  and  blood,  alluded  to  in  this 
trumpet.     Gregory,  of  those  times,  says,  "  Such  terrors 


CHAPTER    VIII.  Ill 

from  heaven  were  then  often-times  stricken  in  the  minds 
of  men,  as  Ughtning,  flaming  fires,  and  sudden  storms 
occasion."  And  thus  was  fulfilled  the  judgment  of  the 
first  trumpet  on  the  Roman  earth. 

The  texts,  expounded  in  this  lecture,  furnish  rich  ma- 
terials for  reflection.  Divine  judgments  are  often  deferred 
for  a  sealing  time  !  and,  at  such  a  time,  how  important  it 
is  to  obtain  the  seal  of  salvation  !  Sealing  times  are 
nenrly  allied  to  days  of  divine  vengeance  ! — as  in  the 
following :  "  To  declare  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord  ; 
and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God."  God  is  long 
suffering;  but  at  the  time  appointed  his  judgments  will 
speak,  and  will  not  lie.  If,  because  judgment  against  an 
evil  work  is  not  speedily  executed,  the  hearts  of  sinners 
are  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil ;  yet,  sooner  shall  heaven 
and  earth  pass  away,  than  such  denounced  judgments  fail 
of  fulfilment.  God  will  be  known  by  the  judgments  which 
he  executeth.  "  Go  your  way  and  pour  out  your  vials 
upon  the  earth  !"  "  Go  yo  forth,  and  slay  utterly  :  but 
come  not  nigh  to  the  men  that  have  the  mark."  The 
days  in  which  we  live,  render  such  directions  of  the 
deepest  interest ! 


LECTURE   VIII. 


REVELATION    VIIL 


Trumpet  II. 

Ver.  8.  And  the  second  angel  sounded,  and  as  it 
were  a  great  mountain  burning  with  fire  was  cast 
into  the  sea :  and  the  third  part  of  the  sea  became 
blood : 

9.  And  the  third  part  of  the  creatures  which  were 
in  the  sea,  and  had  life,  died ;  and  the  third  part  of 
the  ships  were  destroyed. 

A  mpuntain,  in  prophetip  language,  means  a  kingdom ; 


112  LECTURE    VIII. 

and  a  mountain  on  fire,  means  a  kingdom  flaming  in  war, 
and  burning  with  indignation  for  revenge,  or  for  plunder. 
The  sea,  in  prophecy,  means  a  realm  in  a  tumultuous 
state  ;  and  sometimes  the  seat  of  a  power  marked  out  for 
ruin  :  in  our  text  it  means  the  latter. 

This  trumpet  denotes  another  signal  step  towards  the 
downfall  of  the  Roman  empire,  after  the  first  fury  of 
invasion,  like  a  storm  of  hail  and  thunder  from  the  north. 
And  it  was  fulfilled  by  the  capital  plundering  of  Rome 
itself,  the  seat  of  the  empire,  by  bloody  hordes  of  Goths 
and  Vandals.  The  judgments  of  the  first  trumpet  fell, 
like  a  tempest  of  hail  and  fire,  upon  the  provinces  of  the 
empire ;  but  this  second  trumpet  takes  the  seat  of  it. 
Alaric,  with  an  army  of  Goths,  laid  siege  to  Rome,  took 
the  city,  and  plundered  it ;  slaying  a  vast  multitude  of 
its  inhabitants ;  men,  women,  and  children ;  noble  and 
ignoble,  priests  and  laity. 

But  this  scene  of  terror  was  outdone  by  another  of  a 
similar  kind  within  half  a  century ;  when  Genseric,  with 
an  army  of  Vandals  from  the  northern  parts  of  Africa 
(where  this  people  had  planted  themselves  from  the  north, 
as  has  been  noted),  landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tyber  at 
Rome,  and  took  the  city.  The  burning  mountain  was 
now  cast  indeed  into  the  sea,  in  prophetic  imagery.  The 
ferocious  Moors  and  Vandals  had  the  unrestrained  posses- 
sion and  plundering  of  this  vast  city,  the  capital  of  the 
world,  for  fifteen  days  ;  when  its  treasures,  sacred  and 
secular,  fell  a  promiscuous  prey  into  the  hands  of  these 
rapacious  legions.  When  their  fury  was  glutted,  and 
their  rage  for  plunder  satisfied,  Genseric  led  them  back  to 
Africa,  conveying  thither  immense  riches,  and  many  cap- 
tives ;  among  whom  was  the  Empress  Eudoxia,  with  her 
two  daughters.  This  may  be  viewed  as  a  finishing  of 
the  judgment  of  the  second  trumpet ;  and  thus  as  a  nota- 
ble infliction  of  divine  wrath  on  that  capital  city,  so  long 
the  seat  of  the  pagan  persecutions  of  the  church  of 
Christ.  As  the  hail-storm  of  the  judgment  of  the  first 
trumpet  came  from  the  north,  this  finishing  and  most  capi- 
tal scene  of  the  burning  mountain  of  the  second  trumpet, 
came  from  the  burning  climes  of  the  south. 

Trumpet  III. 

Ver.  10.  And  the  third  angel  sounded,  and  there 


CHAPTER    VIII.  113 

fell  a  great  star  from  heaven,  burning  as  it  were  a 
lamp,  and  it  fell  upon  a  third  part  of  the  rivers,  and 
upon  the  fountains  of  waters: 

1 1 .  And  the  name  of  the  star  is  called  Wormwood : 
and  the  third  part  of  the  waters  became  wormwood  ; 
and  many  men  died  of  the  waters,  because  they  were 
made  bitter. 

A  falling  star,  in    prophetic  imagery,    and    when   se- 
cular things  are  the  subject,  imports  the  falhng  of  some 
civil   prince.     Thus  Isaiah,   addressing  the   king  of  Ba- 
bylon,   after  his  fall,  says,  "How  art   thou  fallen  from 
heaven,  O  LuL-ifer,  son  of  the  morning  !"  or,  thou  light- 
bearing  star ;    alluding  to  the    day-star,    as  though   this 
should  fall  to  the  earth  !  What  Roman  prince  then,  fell  at 
this  time  ?     Their  last  Roman  emperor,  Momylus  (called 
Augustulus,  or  the  little   Augustus),  was,   at  the  time  to 
which  this  trumpet  naturally  alludes,   put  down, — to  the 
great  vexation  of  the   provinces  of  the  Roman  empire. 
Odoacer,  king  of  the  Heruli,  collected  an  army  in  Ger- 
many, entered  Italy,  and    put  down   their   last  emperor 
(after  taking  Rome),  and  assumed  to  himself  the  title  of 
the  king  of  Italy  :  this  operated  indeed  like  wormwood 
on  rivers  and   fountains  of  water,  which  renders   them 
bitter.     The  condition  of  the  kingdoms  and   provinces  of 
the  empire,  denoted  by  the  rivers  and    fountains   in  our 
text,  was  thus   imbittered    and  perplexed.      For  bloody 
scenes,  revolutions,  and  barbarous  governments  followed, 
occasioning  bitter  anxieties,  terrors,  and  much  slaughter. 
Another  bitter  scene  too, — one  of  a  religious  kind, — 
occurred  at  this  period;  the  terrors  of  the  Arian  heresy. 
A  star  falling  from  heaven,  in  things  ecclesiastical,  denotes 
an  apostate,  a  false  teacher,  a  fatal   heretic  :  as  in  Rev, 
ix.  1  ;  where  such  a  falling  star  denoted  the  author  of  the 
Mohammedan  delusion,  as  will  be  seen.     The  falling  star 
in  our  text  then,  may  allude  to  the  noted  Arian  heresy  of 
those  days.     Both  Arius,  and  his   more  active  followers, 
may  well   be   called  wormwood  ;  because,  with  all  their 
sanctimonious  zeal,  and    cry   of  Persecution  (a   trait  of 
character  common  to  heretics),  they  were  themselves  ex- 
tremely bitter  against  the  orthodox  followers  of  Christ. 
And  their  enmities  and  persecutions  did,  at  that  very  time, 
K2 


114  LECTURE    VIII. 

imbitter  the  blessings  of  life,  whether  this  were,  or  were 
not,  a  fulfihnent  of  our  text.     Arius  denied  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity  in  the  Godhead  ;  holding  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  but  a  mere  creature,  though  of  exalted  rank,  and  above 
angels.     And  he  exhibited   his  scheme,  when  he  said  of 
his  opponents,  "  'J'hey  hold  that  Christ,  in  his  divine  per- 
son, is  not  posterior  nor  inferior  to  the  Father !"     And 
again  ;    "  We  (Arians)  are   persecuted,  because  we  say 
Christ  had  a  beginning !"     Though  Arius  himself  lived 
before   the    time  of  the  judgment  of  this    trumpet :    yet 
the  Arian  heresy  received  a  notable  revival  at  this  very 
period.     We  learn  in  history  that  kings  and  first  charac- 
ters  of  those  barbarous  hordes  from  the  north,   as  they 
came  within   the  twilight  of  Christianity,  embraced  the 
tenets  of  Arius  ;  and  they  became  their  furious  advocates, 
and  the  bitter  persecutors  of  the  orthodox.     The  cele- 
brated Mosheim  testifies  as  follows  :   "  Towards  the  com- 
mencement of  the  sixth  century,  the  Arians  were  triumph- 
ant in  several  parts  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe  !    Their 
opinions   were   openly    professed,  and  their  cause  main- 
tained, by  the  Vandals  in  Africa,  the  Goths  in  Italy,  the 
Spaniards  and  Burgundians,  the  Suevi,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  Gauls."     He  further  proceeds  to  speak  of  the 
Trinitarians,  as  being  rigorously  treated  by   the  heretics 
of  that  age  ;  particularly   in  Africa  and  Italy,  where,  he 
says,  "  they  felt,  in  a  very  severe  manner,  the  weight  of 
the  Arian  power,  and  the  bitterness  of  their  resentment." 
And  this  storm,  he  informs  us,  was  not  over,  till  the  Van- 
dals were  driven  (in  534)  from  Africa  ;  and  the  Goths,  by 
the   arm  of  Justinian,  out  of  Italy."     (Vol.  i.  p.    467.) 
These  Arian  persecutions  accord  so  fully  with  both  the 
chronology  and  the  imagery  of  this  trumpet,  that  they  are 
here  adduced  as  at  least  aiding  in   the  fulfilment  of  its 
events.     They  did  indeed  contribute  their  full  part  to  the 
bitter  scenes  of  those  days,   and  were  effected  by  the 
bitter  Goths  and  Vandals  who  had  been  the  instruments 
of  the  judgments  of  the  two  antecedent  trumpets. 

Trumpet  IV. 

Ver.  12.  And  the  fourth  angel  sounded,  and  the 
third  part  of  the  sun  was  smitten,  and  the  third  part 
of  the  moon,  and  the  third  part  of  the  stars ;  so  as  the 


CHAPTER    VIII.  115 

third  part  of  them  was  darkened,  and  the  day  sho.ie 
not  for  a  third  part  of  it,  and  the  night  likewise  : 

The  darkening  of  the  heavenly  lumniaries  imports,  in 
prophetic  language,  the  subversion  of  the  civil  authorities, 
in  a  kingdom  or  empire ;  the  destroying  of  their  civil 
peace. 

A  vi^riter  says.  As  light  is  the  symbol  of  joy  and  safety, 
so  is  darkness  of  adversity  and  misery  ;  and  hence,  said 
Jeremiah  to  the  Jews  ;  "  Give  glory  to  the  Lord  your  God, 
before  he  cause  darkness ;  and  before  your  feet  stumble 
upon  the  dark  mountains ;  and  while  ye  look  for  light,  he 
turn  it  into  the  shadow  of  death,  and  make  it  gross  dark- 
ness." We  have  here  one  description  of  the  Babylonish 
captivity;  it  caused  "gross  darkness."  The  degree  of 
darkness  in  such  passages  may  hint  to  us  the  degree  of 
the  judgment  fulfilling  them.  The  prophet  Isaiah,  pre- 
dicting the  judgments  of  the  last  days,  when  God  will 
"cut  off  the  spirit  of  princes,  and  show  himself  terrible  to 
the  kings  of  the  earth ;"  says,  "  For  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  the  constellations  thereof,  shall  not  give  their  light ; 
the  sun  shall  be  darkened  in  his  going  forth  ;  and  the 
moon  shall  not  cause  her  light  to  shine  ;  and  I  will  punish 
the  world  for  their  evil." 

Ezekiel,  also,  predicting  fatal  judgments  on  Egypt, 
says,  "  When  I  shall  put  thee  out ;  (or  extinguish  thy 
luminary,)  I  will  cover  the  heavens,  and  make  the  stars 
thereof  dark ;  I  will  cover  the  sun  with  a  cloud  ;  and  the 
moon  shall  not  give  her  light ;  and  all  the  bright  lights  of 
heaven  will  I  make  dark  over  thee,  and  set  darkness  upon 
thy  land,  saith  the  Lord  God."  Joel  also  says,  "  The 
sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  before  the  great  and 
notable  day  of  the  Lord  ;"  meaning  in  wars  and  revolu- 
tions. 

Thus  we  learn  the  sense  of  the  prophetic  language  in 
otir  text ;  that  God  would  darken  a  third  part  of  the 
political  Roman  luminaries  ;  or  extinguish  that  third  part 
of  the  political  light  of  that  empire,  which  then  still  re- 
mained. It  seems,  from  the  history  of  the  fulfilment  of 
our  text,  that  the  third  part  of  the  light  extinguished  was 
not  the  first  third  ;  but  the  last  third  ;  or  the  part  which 
had  till  now  remained.  And  this  their  darkness  settled 
down  upon  them  for  both  day  and  night,  or  the  twenty- 


116  LECTURE    VIII. 

four  hours,  meaning  continually.  Rome  never  again 
should  recover  her  pristine  glory,  nor  much  meliorate  her 
degraded  condition. 

And  all  this  took  place  upon  that  empire.  After  the 
Gothic  kingdom  had  for  some  time  continued  in  Italy, — 
which  kingdom  had  left  to  Kome  a  considerable  degree 
of  splendour,  and  some  degree  of  the  power  of  her  senate, 
consuls,  and  other  magistrates, — the  emperor  of  the  east- 
ern wing  of  the  empire  sent  his  general  Belisarius,  and 
took  Rome.  The  year  following,  Viiijes,  king  of  the 
Goths,  besieged  Rome  with  an  army  of  150,000  men,  and 
reduced  it  to  great  extremity.  Soon  after,  Totilas,  a  suc- 
ceeding Gothic  king,  took  Rome :  and  ihe  next  year 
Belisarius  took  it  from  him  :  two  years  after,  Totilas  re- 
covered it :  and  five  times,  in  less  than  twenty  years,  this 
noted  city  was  thus  taken  and  retaken  ;  reducing  that 
capital  of  the  world  to  a  sorry  condition  !  In  a  short  time 
after,  Narses,  another  general  of  the  emperor  in  the  east, 
again  subdued  Rome,  and  got  himself  constituted  duke 
of  all  the  realm,  with  Rome  and  the  other  provinces  sub- 
jected to  him. 

The  exarchate  of  Ravenna  was  now  established,  and 
became  the  seat  of  the  new  government ;  and  Rome  lost 
all  its  supremacy,  and  was  placed  upon  a  level  with  other 
cities  of  Italy  ;  and  thus  the  last  third  of  the  light  of  this 
great  national  luminary  was  extinct !  Darkness  settled 
on  all  the  advocates  of  the  old  government ;  and  the 
judgment  in  our  text  whs  accompHshed.  These  first  four 
trumpets,  inflicted  on  Rome,  after  its  revolution  to  Chris- 
tianity, are  the  four  minor  trumpets  :  but  they  brought  the 
fall  of  the  Homan  Empire. 

Ver.  13.  And  I  beheld,  and  heard  an  angel  flying 
through  the  naidst  of  heaven,  saying  with  a  loud  voice, 
Wo,  v^o,  wo,  to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth  by  reason 
of  the  other  voices  of  the  trumpet  of  the  three  angels, 
which  are  yet  to  sound. 

Notice  is  here  given,  by  an  angel  flying  through  the 
heaven,  of  the  three  woes  then  yet  awaiting  the  guilty 
world  :  and  these  tiiree  trumpets  are  hence  denominated 
the  three  wo  trumpets,  or  the  first,  second,  and  tliird  woes ; 
which  were  to  be  still  more  notable  events.     They  were 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


117 


to  relate  each  to  a  different  power,  as  will  be  seen  ;  and 
were  events  great,  and  far  distant  from  each  other. 

The  three  trumpets,  expounded  in  this  lecture,  furnish 
interesting  reflections. 

By  these  judgments,  God  made  himself  known,  vindi- 
cated his  name  and  government,  and  gives  solemn  warn- 
ings to  men  on  earth.  Rome  had  been  great,  and  had 
long  governed  the  known  world.  But,  long  had  this 
wicked  empire  persecuted  the  cause  of  God,  and  slaugh- 
tered miUions  of  the  dear  foHowers  of  Christ :  and  God 
poured  his  judgments  upon  them. 

These  savage  barbarians  from  the  north  had  their  own 
selfish  and  bloody  designs  ;  and  the  Most  High  had  his 
deep,  wise,  holy,  and  vindictive  designs,  in  the  same  events. 
"  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  God  ;  and  the  re- 
mainder of  that  wrath  he  will  restrain."  These  calami- 
ties were  the  wicked  deeds  of  those  vile  hordes  of  robbers; 
and  they  were  yet  the  righteous  dispensations  of  God  : 
"  ye  meant  evil  against  me  (said  Joseph  to  his  brethren); 
but  God  meant  it  for  good."  God  governed  the  whole, 
and  fulfilled  his  word  and  wise  designs  ;  yet  were  the 
aggressors  free  agents  ;  and  their  cruelties  were  without 
excuse.  God  said  of  the  Assyrian,  Isa.  x.,  coming 
against  the  Jews  ;  "  I  will  send  him  against  the  hypo- 
critical nations,  and  against  the  people  of  my  wrath  will 
I  give  him  a  charge,  to  take  the  spoil,  and  to  take  the 
prey,  and  to  tread  them  down  as  the  mire  of  the  streets." 
But  of  the  same  Assyrian,  God  says  ;  "  Howbeit  he 
meaneth  not  so  ;  neither  does  his  heart  think  so  ;  but  it  is 
in  his  heart  to  destroy  and  cut  oflf  nations  not  a  few  :" 
hence  God  cut  oflf  the  Assyrian,  in  his  turn  ;  as  he  did 
the  Romans,  in  the  judgments  recited. 

Let  transgressors  then,  tremble  !  for  "  the  triumphing 
of  the  wicked  is  short !"  "  When  they  say.  Peace  and 
safety  ;  sudden  destruction  cometh,  and  they  shall  not 
escape  !"  "  He  that  being  often  reproved,  hardeneth  his 
neck,  shall  suddenly  be  destroyed,  and  that  without 
remedy." 


LECTURE  IX. 


REVELATION    IX. 

This  chapter  gives  us  the  fifth  and  sixth  trumpets ;  or 
the  first  and  second  wo  trumpets. 

Trumpet  V. 

Ver.  1.  And  the  fifth  angel  sounded,  and  I  saw  a 
star  fall  from  heaven  unto  the  earth  :  and  to  him  was 
given  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit. 

2.  And  he  opened  the  bottomless  pit :  and  there 
arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit,  as  the  smoke  of  a  great 
furnace ;  and  the  sun  and  the  air  were  darkened  by 
reason  of  the  smoke  of  the  pit. 

3.  And  there  came  out  of  the  smoke  locusts  upon 
the  earth :  and  unto  them  was  given  power,  as  the 
scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power. 

4.  And  it  was  commanded  them  that  they  should 
not  hurt  the  grass  of  the  earth,  neither  any  green 
thing,  neither  any  tree ;  but  only  those  men  which 
have  not  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads. 

5.  And  to  them  it  was  given  that  they  should  not 
kill  them,  but  that  they  should  be  tormented  five 
months:  and  their  torment  was  as  the  torment  of  a 
scorpion  when  he  striketli  a  man. 

6.  And  in  those  days  shall  men  seek  death,  and 
shall  not  find  it;  and  shall  desire  to  die,  and  death 
shall  flee  from  them. 

7.  And  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto 
horses  prepared  unto  battle  ;  and  on  their  heads 
were  as  it  were  crowns  like  gold,  and  their  faces  were 
as  the  faces  of  men. 

8.  And  they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of  women,  and 
their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of  lions. 


CHAPTER    IX.  119 

9.  And  they  had  breastplates,  as  it  were  breast- 
plates of  iron ;  and  the  sound  of  their  wings  was  as 
the  sound  of  chariots  of  many  horses  running  to 
battle. 

10.  And  they  had  tails  like  unto  scorpions,  and 
there  were  stings  in  their  tails  :  and  their  power  was 
to  hurt  men  five  months. 

11.  And  they  had  a  king  over  them,  which  is  the 
angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  whose  name  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon,  but  in  the  Greek  tongue 
hath  his  name  Apollyon. 

We  have  here  a  prediction  of  the  rise  and  progress  of 
the  Mohammedan  delusion,  propagated  hy  armies  of  Sara- 
cens. A  falling  star,  when  the  event  is  a  religious  concern, 
is  an  emblem  of  some  religious  impostor.  Such  an  impos- 
tor has  here  a  key  of  the  bottomless  pit;  which  imports 
that  he  is  permitted  to  introduce  a  fatal  delusion  from  the 
world  of  darkness.  His  opening  the  door  of  the  bottom- 
less pit,  and  a  smoke  ascending  from  it,  darkening  the  world 
around,  denote  the  rise  of  a  fatal  delusion  from  hell.  And 
that  smoke's  pouring  forth  locusts  of  a  terrible  description, 
denotes  the  agents  and  armies  by  whom  this  delusion  is 
propagated.  And  all  the  remaining  parts  of  the  figurative 
description  are  most  natural,  to  give  the  rise  and  progress 
of  this  delusion. 

This  falling  star  was  Mohammed  ;  or  Sargius,  a  Jewish 
apostate  monk,  a  man  of  literature,  who  was  prime  agent 
to  Mohammed  in  the  formation  of  his  Koran,  and  false 
scheme.  The  falling  star  denotes  Wohammed,  with  this 
monk  included,  and  whatever  aid  he  found  in  his  infernal 
plans.  This  grand  impostor  had  travelled  as  a  merchant 
in  the  Arabian  caravans,  and  had  noticed,  in  the  regions 
■where  he  passed,  what  parts  of  their  religions  were  most 
pleasing;  and  what  displeasing,  to  the  multitude.  And 
Satan,  and  his  own  ambitious  heart,  induced  him  to  deter- 
mine on  forming  a  new  system  of  religion,  which  should 
imbody  the  things  most  pleasing  to  the  human  heart;  and 
avoid  all  the  poiiits  most  displeasing ;  and  to  present  this 
system  lo  the  world,  as  a  new  revelation  from  Heaven. 
To  effect  this  object  to  the  best  advantage,  Mohammed, 
with  Sarguis  his  aid,  retired,  in  the  year  606,  to  a  cave  in 


120  LECTURE    IX. 

MeccH,  in  Arabia,  where  he  lived,  and  there  formed  his 
Alcoran,  or  his  new  bible.  This  he  fondly  imagined  would 
be  most  readily  embraced  by  all  men.  Men  are  apt  to 
imagine  that  what  they  furnish  and  highly  esteem,  will  be 
by  others  readily  received.  But  Mohammed  seemed  not 
to  have  been  aware  that  a  prophet  is  not  likely  to  be 
honoured  in  his  own  country,  and  among  his  own  people. 
In  this  case,  they  knew  the  man  too  well,  to  believe  that  he 
had  been  blessed  with  any  new  revelation  from  God. 
After  labouring  a  course  of  years,  to  induce  the  people  of 
his  region  to  receive  his  new  religion  ;  they  became  indig- 
nant al  his  mad  presumption,  and  expelled  him  from  their 
community.  He  now  fled  to  Medina,  another  noted  place 
in  Arabia,  in  the  year  622  ;  which  time  is  called  in  his 
system  the  Hegira,  or  the  flight;  and  it  commences  their 
reckoning  of  time,  as  the  birth  of  Christ  does  the  Christian 
era.  This  man  now  formed  his  daring  design  to  propa- 
gate his  new  religion  by  force  and  arms.  In  G29,  he 
raised  an  army  of  10,000  men  for  this  purpose;  and  in 
631,  all  Arabia  was  prostrate  before  him.  In  about  30 
years  more,  he  had  overrun  the  dominions  of  the  Greek 
emperor,  as  far  as  Persia.  There  was  then  a  cessation  of 
this  horrid  contest,  for  about  50  years,  in  contentions  rela- 
tive to  the  Mohammedan  succession  in  government. 

Upon  the  settlement  of  this  point  of  altercation,  the  plan 
of  propagating  their  religion  with  fire  and  sword,  was 
resumed  ;  and,  soon  after,  the  western  kingdoms  of  Europe 
were  violently  beset  by  these  devouring  locusts.  And, 
in  about  120  years  from  the  origin  of  this  delusion,  it  was 
thus  forcibly  extended  over  the  following  nations — Arabia, 
Palestine,  Syria,  both  the  Armenias,  most  of  Asia  Minor, 
Persia,  Egypt,  Numidia,  the  States  of  Barbary,  Portugal, 
Spain,  part  of  Italy,  Sicilia,  Candia,  and  Cyprus.  And 
their  ambitious  rage  still  glowingr,  ihey  entered  France 
with  an  army  of  400,000  men.  But  Charles  Martel  met 
them,  defeated  their  armies,  and  drove  them  from  Europe, 
with  the  loss  of  seven-eighths  of  their  hosts.  This  checked 
their  mighty  conquests. 

The  Arabian  armies,  by  which  this  delusion  was  propa- 
gated, were  denoted  by  the  locusts  in  our  text,  coming 
from  the  smoke  which  arose  from  the  bottomless  pit.  And 
the  figure  to  denote  them,  locusts,  is  striking,  on  account 
of  their  origin,  their  multitudes,  their  swift  marches,  speedy 


CHAPTER    IX»  121 

conquests,  and  their  ravages.  Arabia,  where  these  armies 
were  collected,  was  a  noted  region  for  locusts,  in  large 
devouring  swarms.  Locusts  too,  have,  by  some  natural^ 
ists,  been  said  to  originate  in  pits  and  caverns.  And 
Mohammedism  was  formed  in  an  Arabian  cave.  These 
mystical  locusts  are  said,  in  the  text,  to  have  power,  as  the 
scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power.  Scorpions  are  power- 
ful, considering  their  size  ;  and  they  have  a  deadly  sting ; 
and  deadly  venom ;  and  are  most  hateful  to  man.  And 
in  like  manner,  the  Mohammedan  armies  were  most  hate- 
ful to  those  whom  they  subdued,  both  in  their  religion, 
manners,  and  cruelties.  And  they  were  vastly  powerful 
and  deadly,  till  Martel  checked  them.  In  one  battle  (that 
of  Yermauk),  their  general  reported,  that  he  slew  150,000 
men.  Their  armies  were  composed  of  cavalry,  and  were 
thus  very  swift.  Green  grass,  the  text  informs,  they 
should  not  destroy  ;  nor  trees,  nor  any  green  thing.  They 
thus  differed  from  natural  locusts.  And  the  Mohammedan 
armies  had  their  orders,  from  their  leaders,  not  to  injure 
fruit  trees;  nor  needlessly  to  injure  animals,  nor  vegeta- 
bles. The  commission  divinely  given  them  in  our  text, 
was  against  the  men,  who  had  not  the  seal  of  God  in  their 
foreheads.  And  these,  they  should  not  slay ;  but  they 
should  torment  them  five  months  ;  meaning,  probably,  five 
months  in  a  year ;  which  is  about  the  time  of  the  ravages 
of  natural  locusts ;  and  was  about  the  time  the  Moham- 
medan armies  did  yearly  push  their  conquests. 

Many  of  the  people,  where  the  ravages  of  these  mys- 
tical locusts  took  place,  had  been  blessed  with  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Christian  salvation  by  the  apostles  and  early 
preachers  of  the  gospel ;  but  this  blessing  had  been,  by 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  in  those  places,  rejected. 
And  these  furious  armies  now  had  their  commission 
against  these  rejecters  of  Christ ;  not  indeed  to  make  of 
them  a  promiscuous  slaughter ;  but  to  torment  them  with 
their  attacks,  their  exactions,  and  various  kinds  of  tyranny. 
The  despisers  of  gospel  salvation,  in  those  regions,  found 
that  God  had  plenty  of  judgments  for  his  gospel  enemies  ! 
That  they,  having  rejected  the  gracious  mission  of  Christ 
from  heaven,  should  now  be  tormented  with  the  pretended 
mission  of  the  grand  impostor  Mohammed  !  Such  is  the 
vindictive  economy  of  heaven.  The  Jews  rejected  their 
true  Messiah ;  and  were  afterward  cursed  with  false  pre- 
L 


122  LECtTTRE    IX. 

tended  Messiahs  !  When  people  reject  true  gospel  minis- 
ters, it  would  not  be  strange  should  they  be  destroyed 
with  false  teachers,  and  given  up  to  fatal  delusions  ! 

Relative  to  those  mystic  locusts  tormenting  the  people, 
destitute  of  the  seal  of  God ;  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that 
those  armies  of  Saracens  did  usually  make  their  incursions 
upon  the  regions  which  they  invaded  during  only  the 
warm  months,  each  season.  They  would  then  retire  for 
winter-quarters ;  and  would  be  ready  to  enter  on  new  in- 
vasions on  the  opening  of  the  next  summer  months.  In 
the  two  first  and  two  last  months  of  each  year,  their  mili- 
tary laws  forbade  their  making  any  new  incursions  upon 
any  region.  They  generally  spent  more  than  half  the 
year  at  home,  in  their  own  families  and  business.  So 
fully  did  they  accord  with  this  part  of  the  description  in 
the  text. 

Among  the  torments  inflicted  by  these  Mohammedan 
powers  upon  the  conquered,  were  the  following: — infidels 
who  rejected  the  Christian  religion,  and  also  all  idolaters, 
they  forced  to  receive  the  Mohammedan  religion,  upon 
pain  of  death.  But  Jews  and  Christians,  having  their 
Bibles,  and  their  religion,  they  left  to  the  enjoyment  of 
them,  upon  their  paying  large  sums,  which  they  exacted. 
Where  the  payment  of  such  sums  was  refused ;  they 
should  embrace  the  new  religion,  or  die.  And  the  heathen 
were  obliged  to  embrace  their  religion,  or  die.  They  thus 
had  provision  not  to  have  the  conquered  inevitably  put 
to  death ;  but  they  must  be  tormented. 

These  locusts  were  said  to  have  stings.  Various  and 
most  stinging  indeed  were  the  calamities  which  fell  upon 
the  conquered  from  their  new  masters.  A  noted  author 
says :  "  Their  military  laws  adjudged  such  a  portion  of 
their  captives  to  bondage.  And  the  condition  of  these, 
particularly  of  the  women,  was  so  deplorable  (being  in 
the  power  of  men  of  the  greatest  licentiousness),  that 
many  would  prefer  death  to  their  condition !" 

As  to  the  heads  of  these  locusts  being  like  the  heads  of 
horses,  having  crowns,  faces  of  men,  hair  of  women, 
teeth  of  lions,  and  wings  sounding  as  chariots  rushing  to 
battle ;  parts  of  these  figures  seem  borrowed  from  the 
natural  locusts,  and  parts  from  the  actual  uniform  of 
Arabian  soldiers.  The  heads  of  the  mounted  cavalry 
might  well  be  said  to  be  heads  of  horses.     And,  as  to 


CHAPTER   IX.  123 

their  crowns,  the  soldier  wore  a  turban  something  like  a 
crown.  His  face  was  masculine,  as  he  wore  a  part  of 
his  beard  on  his  upper  lip  ;  and  had  the  strong  and  fierce 
countenance  of  the  warrior.  But  these  soldiers  wore 
their  hair  dressed  and  twisted  in  a  delicate  manner,  like 
women.  And  different  twists  and  dresses  of  their  hair 
were  used  to  distinguish  different  bands  of  the  soldiery. 
Their  armour  was  such  as  might  well  be  denoted  by  teeth 
of  lions,  and  iron  breast-plates.  And  their  speed  and 
fury  in  rushing  to  battle,  were  well  denoted  by  sounds  of 
furious  wings,  and  the  thundering  of  chariots.  The  king 
of  these  armies  of  locusts  was  said  to  be  an  angel  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  His  Hebrew  name  was  Abaddon ;  and 
his  Greek  name  Apollyon ;  each  of  which  imports  a  de- 
stroyer. 

This  their  king  was  first,  Mohammed,  and  afterward  his 
successors  the  caliphs.  Each  of  these  was,  at  once, 
their  high-priest,  and  a  leader  of  their  armies.  These 
men  were  indeed  destroyers  ;  and  were  well  called  angels 
of  the  bottomless  pit.  All  these  descriptions  were  mani- 
festly fulfilled  in  the  armies  of  Saracens,  propagating  the 
Mohammedan  delusion. 

The  two  antichristian  powers,  the  papal  and  Moham- 
medan, were  the  two  colossean  pillars  of  the  kingdom  of 
Satan  on  earth.  They  were  planted,  as  it  were,  side  by 
side  ;  and  erected  in  bold  defiance  of  heaven,  to  destroy, 
if  possible,  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer.  But  very  differ- 
ent was  the  purpose  of  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  world, 
in  the  same  events.  God  designed  the  Mohammedan  im- 
posture as  a  means  of  executing  his  righteous  judgments 
on  those  sections  of  the  earth  where  the  gospel  had  been 
preached  in  its  purity,  but  had  been  rejected  or  corrupted. 
He  designed  it  as  a  wo  trumpet,  thundered  on  that  section 
of  his  enemies,  to  exhibit  to  all  people  and  ages  the  dan- 
ger of  rejecting  his  gospel.  If  men  will  not  receive  the 
love  of  the  truth  that  they  may  be  saved,  it  may  be  ex- 
pected that  God  will  send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they 
shall  believe  a  lie,  that  they  all  may  be  damned  who 
believe  not  the  truth,  but  have  pleasure  in  unrighteousness. 

This  wo  trumpet  was  tremendous  in  hs  nature,  and  in 
its  long  duration.  It  was  to  rise  with  the  papal  delusion, 
and  to  continue  about  the  same  length  of  time,  as  may  be 


124  LECTURE   IX. 

shown.  The  one  may  be  called  the  eastern,  the  other 
the  western  Antichrist. 

Relative  to  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  this  wo- 
trumpet,  Mohammed  retired  to  his  cave  to  form  his 
scheme,  in  the  year  606.  In  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years  from  this  period,  their  conquests  were  won.  Take 
a  medium  then,  of  this  hundred  and  twenty  years,  as  the 
time  for  the  fair  manifestation  of  this  grand  imposture  to 
the  world,  and  it  gives  the  year  666.  The  Koran,  im- 
bodying  this  scheme  of  imposture,  was  but  a  horrid  bundle 
of  falsehoods,  superstition,  and  licentiousness,  propagated 
by  violent  armies.  And  the  soldiers  were  assured,  that 
all  who  fell  in  battle  propagating  this  religion,  instantly 
ascended  to  a  sensual  paradise ;  which  motive  was  cal- 
culated and  designed  to  render  them  fearless  and  in- 
vincible. 

Thus  terrible  was  the  judgment  of  the  fifth  trumpet  on 
the  multitudes  in  the  eastern  realms,  who  had  rejected 
Christ  and  his  salvation.  So  fatally  did  God  subject  them 
to  Mohammedan  tyranny,  and  to  intolerable  calamities. 
So  fatal,  even  in  time,  was  iheir  rejection  of  the  grace  of 
God  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son.  "  Do  they  provoke  me  to 
anger?  saith  the  Lord.  Do  they  not  provoke  themselves, 
to  the  confusion  of  their  own  faces  ?"  Let  gospel  de- 
spisers  beware  ;  for  God  is  still  the  same ;  and  the  judg- 
ments in  our  text  are  held  up  in  solemn  warning. 

Trumpet  VI. 

Ver.  12.  One  wo  is  past :  and,  behold,  there 
come  two  woes  more  hereafter. 

13.  And  the  sixth  angel  sounded,  and  I  heard  a 
voice  from  the  four  horns  of  the  golden  altar  which 
is  before  God, 

14.  Saying  to  the  sixth  angel  which  had  the 
trumpet.  Loose  the  four  angels  which  are  bound  in 
the  great  river  Euphrates. 

15.  And  the  four  angels  were  loosed,  which  were 
prepared  for  an  hour,  and  a  day,  and  a  month,  and  a 
year,  for  to  slay  the  third  part  of  men. 

16.  And  the  number  of  the  army  of  the  horsemen 
were  two  hundred  thousand  thousand ;  and  I  heard 
the  number  of  them. 


CHAPTER   IX.  125 

17.  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses  in  the  vision,  and 
them  that  sat  on  them,  having  breastplates  of  fire, 
and  of  jacinth,  and  brimstone  :  and  the  heads  of  the 
horses  were  as  the  heads  of  Hons ;  and  out  of  their 
mouths  issued  fire,  and  smoke,  and  brimstone. 

18.  By  these  three  v^as  the  third  part  of  men 
killed,  by  the  fire,  and  by  the  smoke,  and  by  the 
brimstone,  which  issued  out  of  their  mouths. 

19.  For  their  power  is  in  their  mouth,  and  in  their 
tails :  for  their  tails  were  like  unto  serpents,  and  had 
heads,  and  with  them  they  do  hurt. 

20.  And  the  rest  of  the  men,  which  were  not  killed 
by  these  plagues,  yet  repented  not  of  the  works  of 
their  hands,  that  they  should  not  worship  devils,  and 
idols  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  brass,  and  stone,  and 
of  wood ;  which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor 
walk: 

21.  Neither  repented  they  of  their  murders,  nor 
of  their  sorceries,  nor  of  their  fornication,  nor  of 
their  thefts. 

We  have  here  the  origin  and  advancement  of  the  Turk- 
ish empire,  another  great  supporter  of  the  Mohammedan 
delusion.  A  voice  from  the  four  horns  of  the  golden 
altar  before  the  throne  in  heaven,  calls  forward  the  event 
of  this  trumpet.  This  is  the  altar,  in  chapter  viii.  3,  where 
Christ  offers  much  incense  with  die  prayers  of  the  saints, 
that  they  may  find  acceptance  with  God.  This  circum- 
stance hints  to  us,  that  this  wo  trumpet  is  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  the  saints  thus  perfumed.  They  pray  for 
Zion  ;  and  God  fulfils  his  judgments  on  their  enemies  in 
answer  to  their  petitions. 

Four  angels  are  loosed  that  were  bound  in  the  river 
Euphrates,  prepared  for  judgments.  These  angels  im- 
port ministers  of  Providence,  by  whom  he  would  chastise 
various  nations  of  the  papal  empire.  And  they  denoted 
four  governments  of  Turks,  located  near  the  river  Eu- 
phrates. Four  governments  of  Seljukian  Turks  were 
indeed  found  there ;  one  at  Aleppo,  one  at  Iconium,  one 
at  Damascus,  and  one  at  Bagdat.  These  ambitious 
powers  had  long  been  inclined  to  extend  their  dominions  ; 
but  they  had  been  restrained  from  it  as  though  "  bound" 
L  2 


126  LECTURE    IX. 

by  two  causes:  (1.)  The  armies  of  the  Crusades  from 
Europe  to  the  Holy  Land,  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  cen- 
turies ;  and  (2.)  By  the  attacks  of  the  Tartars  on  these 
governments. 

These  restraining  causes,  at  the  time  of  the  opening  of 
this  sixth  trumpet,  ceased.  The  wild  crusades  closed 
with  the  twelfth  century ;  and  the  invasions  of  Tartars 
then  became  less  formidable.  The  Turkish  empire  now 
in  fact  arose,  in  the  union  of  these  four  Turkish  sultanies 
under  Ottoman,  their  first  chieftain,  about  the  year  1300. 
They  threw  off  the  Tartar  yoke,  and  formed  their  plans 
for  conquest.  In  1 363,  they  found  themselves  prepared  to 
cross  the  Hellespont,  into  Europe,  and  commence  there 
most  furious  ravages. 

This  empire  is   said,  in  the  text,  to  have  been  "  pre- 
pared for  an  hour^  and  a  day,  and  a  month,  and  a  year,  to 
slay  a  third  part  of  men."     As  though  that  voice  from 
heaven  had  said  ;  This  pov/er  shall  make  incursions  with 
increasing  success,  as  of  an  hour,  then  of  a  day,  then  of 
a  month,  and  then  of  a  year,  to  slay  a  vast  portion  of  the 
people  in  those  antichristian  regions.    Each  incursion  shall 
increase  in  length  and  terror,  till  they  shall  fix  the  seat  of 
their  empire  in  the  heart  of  their  enemies'  country.     And 
most  precisely  thus  did  the  events  take  place.     The  armies 
of  this  Ottoman  empire  broke  into  Europe  for  plunder,  and 
soon  retired ;    occasioning  an   alarm   as   of  a  prophetic 
hour.     Bajazet,  soon  after,  made  a  longer  excursion,  and 
threatened  a  general  invasion  of  Greece ;  but  an  attack 
of  the  Tartars  called  him  home  ;  and  the  terror  in  Europe 
again  subsided.     This  was  an  alarm  for  a  prophetic  day. 
After  a  season  of  rest  in  Europe,  he  commenced  a  new 
attack ;  took  Adrianople,  and  other  portions  of  Greece. 
And  he  besieged  Constantinople  for  eight  years,  and  pro- 
bably would  have  taken  it ;  but  Tamerlane,  the  Tartar, 
took  this  opportunity  to  renew  his  attack  upon  the  Turks, 
which  caused  Bajazet  to  raise  this  seige,  and  hasten  home 
to  protect  his  own  dominions.     This   third  invasion  of 
Greece  may  well  be  noted  as  the  alarm  of  a  month, — or 
thirty  years.     But  the  Turkish  invasion  of  that  south-east 
of  Europe  was  soon   after   again   pursued ;  when  Mo- 
hammed Second  took  Constantinople  in  the  year  1453, 
and  made  it  the  capital  of  the  Turkish  empire  in  Europe, 
established  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Greeks.     This  may  well 


CHAPTER   IX.  127 

be  called  the  judgment  of  a  prophetic  year,  whether  de- 
finitely or  indefinitely  calculated.  Should  it  mean  a 
definite  prophetic  year,  or  360  years  from  the  time  of  the 
Turks'  becoming  established  in  Europe ;  it  would  bring 
the  commencement  of  their  fall  to  about  the  year  1818. 

The  history  of  the  Turks  gives  a  clear  illustration  of 
the  imagery  in  our  text.  Their  armies  were  great,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  horsemen  or  cavalry.  They  were  not 
usually  found  with  less  than  300,000  cavalry,  and  60,000 
infantry.  They  pressed  like  lions  upon  their  enemies, 
and  were  rapid  in  their  conquests.  They  enforced  the 
Mohammedan  religion.  Their  way  of  propagating  it 
was  with  firearms.  They  subdued  Greece,  Asia  Minor, 
and  great  territories  in  the  east.  Their  hearts  flamed 
with  the  wildest  fire  of  enthusiasm  and  rage ;  and  they 
tormented  men  with  the  most  absolute  despotism. 

The  number  of  their  armies,  as  stated  in  the  text,  is 
amazing ;  "  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  ;"  or  one 
hundred  million !  This  number,  one  would  think,  must 
be  a  great  hyperbole.  It  may  possibly,  however,  be  the 
number  of  all  their  armies,  from  the  rise  of  their  empire 
to  its  final  extinction.  The  Turkish  soldiery  have  been 
vastly  numerous.  The  true  sense  of  the  text  may  be 
like  that  of  the  following  scriptures  ;  "  The  chariots  of 
God  are  twenty  thousand,  even  thousands  of  angels." 
(Psalm  Ixviii.  19.)  "Thousand  thousands  ministered  unto 
him,  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  before 
him."  (Dan.  vii.  10.)  The  passage  most  forcibly  gives 
the  idea,  that  the  armies  of  the  Turks  would  be  vastly 
numerous,  and  powerful,  and  fully  equal  to  all  the  works 
of  judgment  assigned  them.  And  they  are  said,  in  the 
text,  to  have  breastplates  of  fire,  and  jacinth,  and  brim- 
stone. Their  horses'  heads  are  like  the  heads  of  lions. 
And,  says  the  text,  "  out  of  their  mouth  issued  fire,  and 
smoke,  and  brimstone."  Suppose  then,  that  John  beheld, 
in  vision,  an  army  of  Turkish  cavalry,  furiously  charging  an 
enemy,  and  firing  over  their  horses'  heads,  and  many  of 
the  enemy  falling  before  them ;  while  their  armour  was 
gleaming  with  burnished  brass,  as  though  of  real  fire ; 
the  view  would  seem  to  answer  precisely  to  the  descrip- 
tion he  gives  in  the  text.  Firearms  had  never  been  con- 
ceived of  when  the  text  was  written :  but  they  had  come 
into  use  when  it  was  fulfilled.     The  Turks,  in  this  their 


128  LECTURE    IX. 

attack  upon  Europe,  used  boih  cannon  and  small  arms. 
The  latter  they  fired  over  their  horses'  heads,  which  gave 
the  very  appearance  described  in  the  text ;  as  though  fire 
and  brimstone  issued  from  the  mouths  of  their  horses,  and 
slew  their  enemies.  They  are  said  to  have  had  tails  like 
those  of  serpents  ;  and  heads  on  their  tails,  powerful  to  do 
hurt.  A  poisonous  and  furious  serpent,  with  a  head  at 
each  end,  full  of  fatal  venom,  is  a  striking  emblem  of 
those  Turkish  soldiers.  They  both  subdued  and  tor- 
mented ;  and  every  touch  was  like  that  of  such  a  serpent, 
full  of  malignity,  poison,  and  death. 

The  obstinate  impenitence  of  the  residue  of  their 
enemies,  who  escaped  death,  is  an  affecting  part  of  the 
sacred  story.  "  The  rest  of  the  men  who  were  not  killed 
by  these  plagues,  yet  repented  not !"  Judgments  should 
lead  men  to  God  with  penitent  hearts.  This  only  is  the 
happy  result  of  afflictions.  But  most  frequently  is  it 
otherwise  with  people  deeply  afflicted.  And,  as  the  best 
means  of  repentance  and  salvation  do,  if  misimproved, 
effectually  harden ;  so  the  most  severe  judgments,  when 
misimproved,  do  but  harden  and  prepare  the  soul  for  ruin. 
This  was  the  fatal  effect  of  the  judgments  inflicted  by  the 
Turks  on  the  multitudes  who  fell  under  their  yoke.* 

Happy  has  been  our  exemption  from  such  scenes  of 
judgment  as  are  described  in  these  wars.  Numerous  mil- 
lions were  deluged  in  these  scenes  of  vexation  and  ruin. 
Let  us  bless  God  that  such  has  not,  as  yet,  been  our  lot ! 
We,  too,  might  have  had  the  brutal  rage  of  furious  and 
bloody  millions  let  loose  upon  us.     But  God,  in  our  case, 

*  The  stroke  in  our  text,  that  "  the  rest  of  the  men  repented 
not,"  &c.  gives  a  lively  view  of  the  nature  of  Mohammedism  ;  it 
brings  no  one  to  repentance  ;  it  produces  no  morality  worthy  of  the 
name.  The  instance  was  never  found  that  this  religion  ever  produced 
a  good  man.  But,  like  the  Bohon  Upas  tree,  it  has  ever  filled  its 
whole  atmosphere  with  poison  and  death.  It  was  at  first  a  smoke 
from  hell ;  it  then  produced  nothing  better  than  most  hateful  de- 
vouring locusts  ;  nor  has  it,  from  that  time  to  this,  produced  any 
character  essentially  better.  No  whisper  of  grace  has  ever  blessed 
their  hateful  system  ;  no  heavenly  dove  ever  hovered  there  !  But 
hatred,  and  blood,  and  horror  have  reigned  triumphant  in  all  those 
dark  domains.  Most  strikingly  then  does  this  stroke  give  their 
horrid  case  ;  "  And  the  rest  of  the  men  repented  not  of  the  works 
of  their  hands  that  they  should  not  worship  devils  and  idols  ;  Nei- 
ther repented  they  of  their  murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries,  nor  of 
their  fornications,  nor  of  their  thefts!" 


CHAPTER   IX.  129 

has  kindly  restrained  the  wrath  of  man.  Had  it  not  been 
for  such  restraining  goodness  of  Heaven,  things  hke  the 
terrible  prophetic  hints  contemplated,  would,  long  ere  this 
period,  have  buried  us,  and  all  nations,  in  desolation  and 
ruin.     "The  fire  of  thine  enemies  shall  devour  them." 

Christians,  while  you  contemplate  such  scenes  as  are 
furnished  in  the  two  first  wo  trumpets,  may  you  joyfully 
recollect  that  the  most  savage  destroyers  of  the  human 
family  can,  in  all  their  mighty  rage,  do  nothing  more  than 
fulfil  the  wise  and  holy  counsels  of  Heaven  !  The  keys 
of  death  and  hell  our  Saviour  holds  in  his  own  hand  of 
omnipotent  power.  And  no  infernal  smoke  of  delusion 
can  rise ;  no  horrid  locusts,  as  the  propagators  of  error, 
can  ruin  or  torture  men ;  no  Apollyon  can  desolate  sec- 
tions of  the  earth,  nor  horrid  Turks  destroy  a  third  part 
of  men,  unless  the  great  good  of  God's  kingdom  requires  ; 
and  then  the  true  friends  of  this  kingdom  of  God  shall  be 
eventually  safe,  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  Let  Zion's 
children,  then,  rejoice  that  the  Captain  of  our  salvation 
rules,  with  full  control,  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies. 
That  he  is  a  wall  of  fire  round  about  his  people,  and  a 
glory  in  the  midst  of  them.  And  "  no  weapon  formed 
against  them  shall  prosper." 

Thus  safe  are  all  who  confide  in  the  divine  government, 
even  in  the  days  of  vengeance  upon  the  enemy.  Let  the 
saints  be  joyful  in  following  the  Lamb  !  Then  may  they 
confide  in  their  ever-present  Immanuel,  God  with  us  ; 
whom  having  not  seen  they  love  ;  in  whom,  though  now 
they  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ihey  may  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  till  they  receive  the 
end  of  their  faith,  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 


LECTURE    X. 


REVELATION    X. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  saw  another  mighty  angel  come 
down  from  heaven,  clothed  with  a  cloud ;  and  a 
rainbow  was  upon  his  head,  and  his  face  was  as  it 
were  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of  fire. 

This  chapter  gives  a  notable  event,  which  was  subse- 
quent to  the  second  wo  in  the  preceding  chapter  (which 
was  fulfilled  in  the  rise  of  the  Turks)  ;  and  was  to  be 
antecedent  to  the  third  wo, — the  battle  of  the  great  day, 
as  we  are  assured  in  verse  7th.  It  is  a  notable  descent 
of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  with  his  seven 
thunders,  and  his  little  open  book.  It  will  aid  the  exposi- 
tion of  this  tenth  chapter  to  consider  that  it  gives  the  same 
event,  in  this  first  general  division  of  the  prophetic  part  of 
the  book,  with  that  given  in  the  eighteenth  chapter,  in  the 
second  general  division  : — the  tenth  chapter  giving  the  ter- 
rors of  the  event  to  the  nations ;  and  the  eighteenth,  the 
terrors  of  it  to  the  papal  see.  It  is  a  signal  coming  of 
Christ,  not  for  the  final  destruction  of  popery,  as  in  the 
seventh  vial ;  but  for  the  subversion  of  its  dominant  power, 
as  in  the  fifth  vial,  as  will  be  shown.  Light  will  be 
reflected  on  this  chapter,  when  it  shall  be  shown  that  it 
predicts  the  same  event  with  that  found  in  the  closing  part 
of  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  as  well  as  in  other  prophecies. 

In  the  signal  descent  of  Christ,  in  our  text,  he  is  "  clothed 
with  a  cloud."  This  is  a  notable  prophetic  dress  of  the 
Saviour,  when  he  comes  for  judgment.  Thus  we  read  of 
him,  "Behold,  he  cometh  in  clouds" — "Behold,  the  Lord 
rideth  on  a  swift  cloud  !" — "  Clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  him."  Christ  came  in  a  cloud  of  fire  to  the 
chosen  tribes,  fleeing  from  Egypt;  and  of  confounding 
darkness  to  the  pursuing  Egyptians.  Such  a  cloud  is  a 
bright  emblem  of  his  presence,  of  providential  protection 


CHAPTER   X.  131 

to  his  church,  and  ruin  of  her  enemies.  The  rainbow  on 
his  head,  is  an  emblem  of  his  covenant  faithfulness ;  that 
he  was  now  coming  to  fulfil  some  important  parts  of  his 
word;  and  that  he  will  in  due  time  fulfil  it  all.  This 
coming  of  Christ  was  on  a  vast  design  of  judgment.  His 
face  appearing  like  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars  of  fire, 
are  emblems  (as  was  shown  in  chapter  first)  of  his  infinite 
divinity,  and  of  the  majesty  and  purity  of  his  footsteps,  in 
the  fiery  scenes  then  pending  on  his  enemies. 

Several  great  events  had  been  predicted  as  the  coming 
of  Christ,  when  it  was  evidently  not  a  literal,  but  a  mysti- 
cal coming  ; — as  that  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
the  Jewish  commonwealth ; — that  in  the  revolution  in  the 
Roman  empire  from  paganism  to  Christianity  by  Constan- 
tine ; — that  in  the  reformation  from  popery,  in  the  days  of 
Luther ; — that  in  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God,  just 
before  the  Millennium  ; — and  that  in  our  text.  It  is  noted 
in  vision  as  though  it  were  a  literal  descent,  as  is  usual 
in  language  of  prophecy.  So  familiar  is  this  kind  of  lan- 
guage in  the  Christian  world,  that  it  is  common  to  say, 
Christ  has  thus  and  thus  come  near  to  a  nation, — a  com- 
munity,— or  an  individual ; — alluding  to  some  judgment, 
or  affliction  ; — some  tremendous  coming  of  Christ,  on  a 
vast  section  of  the  papal  earth,  our  text  presents. 

Ver.  2.  And  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little  book  open : 
and  he  set  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea,  and  his  left 
foot  on  the  earth, 

3.  And  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  as  when  a  lion 
roareth:  and  when  he  had  cried,  seven  thunders 
uttered  their  voices. 

This  little  book  in  the  hand  of  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion, is  an  emblem  of  the  fact,  that  a  new  and  very  interest- 
ing era,  in  the  events  of  the  last  days,  is  then  commencing. 
A  book,  in  prophetic  language,  denotes  the  counsels  of  God 
relative  to  a  course  of  events  to  commence ;  as  in  chap. 
v.  1,  where  the  sealed  book,  in  the  divine  hand,  was  about 
to  be  opened.  The  book  in  our  text  is  not  a  book  which 
had  been  ever  before  seen,  as  the  fancy  of  some  men  have 
suggested.  It  was  a  new  book  here  presented  :  and  it  was 
a  symbol  of  a  course  of  events  then  introduced,  of  new  and 


182  LECTURE    X. 

signal  interest,  between  the  second  and  the  third  wo  trum* 
pets,  and  distinct  from  both.  This  book  Christ  holds  in 
his  hand ;  assuring  us,  that  all  events  fulfilling  it  are  in 
the  hand  of  our  Saviour ;  and  that  his  hand  and  special 
judgment  should  now  be  signally  manifest.  And  the  fact, 
that  this  book  is  open,  seems  a  plain  indication  that  when 
the  event  thus  described  should  take  place,  it  should  be 
capable  of  being  well  understood  ;  or  it  would  be  found  to 
be  of  easy  interpretation  by  the  rules  and  analogies  of  the 
prophetic  Scriptures. 

Christ  sets  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot 
upon  the  earth ; — clearly  to  show  both  that  he  is  God  of 
earth  and  ocean ;  and  that  things  were  now  going  to  take 
place  on  both  these  elements,  which  would  be  of  deep 
interest  to  man.  His  crying  with  a  loud  voice,  like  the 
roaring  of  a  lion,  assures  us  that  he  was  now  going  to  take 
some  notorious  enemies  in  hand ;  as  a  lion  roars,  when 
about  to  seize  his  prey !  Says  the  prophet,  "  God  shall 
cry,  yea  roar,  he  shall  prevail  against  his  enemies."  He 
is  represented  as  shouting,  when  about  to  smite  his  ene- 
mies, as  did  warriors  of  ancient  days. 

Seven  thunders  now  utter  their  voices ;  a  strong  figure 
of  an  unprecedented  scene  of  wars.  In  Isai.  xxix.  6,  we 
find  thunder  to  be  an  emblem  of  war.  And  seven  thunders 
striking  at  once,  give  an  idea  of  those  wars  being  general, 
and  of  awful  terror ;  as  the  number  seven,  in  this  book,  is 
a  kind  of  perfect  number.  Most  furious  wars  and  battles 
then,  were  to  desolate  the  regions  marked  out  for  the 
operations  of  this  judgment. 

To  what  scene  of  events  then,  does  this  chapter  allude  ? 
It  clearly  alludes  to  a  period  subsequent  to  the  judgment 
of  the  sixth  trumpet,  fulfilled  by  the  rise  and  ravages  of 
the  Turkish  empire  in  the  fifteenth  century,  as  described 
in  the  preceding  chapter, — the  sixth  trumpet,  which  looses 
the  four  angels  bound  in  the  river  Euphrates,  &;c.  And  it 
is  distinctly  antecedent  to  the  seventh  trumpet ;  as  we  are 
assured  in  verse  7  of  this  chapter.  Upon  the  close  of  the 
description  of  the  judgment  of  the  Turks,  this  chapter  com- 
mences, "  And  I  saw  another  mighty  angel  come  down 
from  heaven" — given  as  a  next  great  event.  While  the 
events  of  the  Revelation  are  not  uniformly  given  in  a  direct 
course ;  yet  when  the  descriptions  are  connected,  as  in 
this   case,  the   events   clearly  are   in   a  direct   course. 


CHAPTER   X.  183 

Those  two  events  are  manifestly  thus,  hi  this  first  general 
division  of  the  book. 

To  what  then,  does  this  notable  descent  of  Christ  allude? 
What  great  event  on  the  papal  earth  did,  at  the  period 
noted,  occur,  which  could  answer  to  the  figures  here  pre- 
sented?— It  must  allude  to  the  scene  of  horrors  introduced 
by  the  revolution  in  France  of  1789,  which  for  twenty-live 
years  converted  the  papal  nations  of  Europe  into  fields  of 
blood  and  terror,  till  the  close  of  the  battle  of  Waterloo ! 
The  revolution, — the  reign  of  terror  in  France, — and  the 
following  wars  and  battles,  were  such  as  to  be  fully  ade- 
quate to  the  figures  in  this  chapter.  It  has  been  calculated 
that  not  less  than  ten  millions  of  the  human  race  perished 
by  the  violent  measures  of  these  scenes.  These  horrors 
are  too  well  known  to  this  generation,  to  need  any  thing 
like  a  full  history  of  them  to  be  here  given.  The  minds 
of  millions  now  on  the  stage  retain  impressions  of  those 
events  too  deep  to  be  easily  removed,  or  to  need  here 
much  of  any  recapitulation  of  them.  Europe  was  long 
involved  in  a  terrific  blaze  of  war ;  in  which  vast  armies 
were  slaughtered  in  quick  succession ;  kings  were  hurled 
from  their  thrones  ;  and  a  great  pan  of  that  quarter  of  the 
world  was  revolutionized !  Old  governments  were  torn 
down,  and  new  ones  set  up,  as  in  a  day.  The  greatest 
empires  trembled  for  their  existence,  and  the  political 
world  seemed  about  to  be  hurled  from  its  foundation ! 

Some  particulars  of  these  scenes  shall  be  given  in  future 
lectures. 

Some  of  the  horrors  of  the  closing  parts  of  these  wars, 
shall  here  be  concisely  noted,  to  evince  that  this  scene 
was  fully  adequate  to  the  figurative  descriptions  given  in 
this  tenth  chapter.  And  let  these  events  which  shall  be 
noted,  be  contemplated  not  as  merely  historical  events  ; 
for  then  the  propriety  of  presenting  them  in  a  religious 
discourse  might  be  doubted.  But  let  them  be  piously  and 
devoutly  considered,  as  strokes  of  divine  judgments,  in- 
flicted by  Jesus  Christ  on  his  enemies,  to  fulfil  his  word, 
to  vindicate  his  authority,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
advancement  of  his  own  kingdom  of  grace  and  salvation. 
It  is  in  this  point  of  light  that  we  read  of  the  wars  and 
battles  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  a  part  of  the  word  of 
God.  These  scenes  we  ought  to  view  as  in  fulfilment  of 
important  prophetic  scriptures,  and  in  fulfilment  of  that 
M 


134  LECTURE    X. 

covenant  faithfulness  of  Christ,  symbolized  here  by  the 
rainbow  upon  his  head,  and  his  feet  being  as  pillars  of 
lire. 

A  new  interest  will  hence  be  given  to  the  closing  events 
of  this  descent  of  Christ,  now  to  be  contemplated.  Be- 
holding them  simply  as  military  events,  would  be  aside 
from  the  design  of  a  religious  lecture.  But  the  faith  of 
the  child  of  God  may  fasten  upon  them  as  events  of  deep 
interest,  which  fulfil  the  judgments,  and  display  the  glory 
of  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  ! 

The  terrible  empire,  which  soon  after  the  French  revo- 
lution of  1789,  burst  upon  the  world,  seemed  about  to 
trample  all  nations  under  foot.  An  universal  military  des- 
potism was  the  manifest  and  most  sanguine  object  of 
the  first  leader,  the  Corsican  emperor  !  Some  obstacles  yet 
stood  in  his  way,  which  he  was  resolved  should  be  soon 
effectually  removed  :  and  probably  what  was  published  in 
our  American  Gazette  of  the  day,  as  the  declared  senti- 
ments of  the  Emperor  BoHaparte,  was  but  too  correct ; 
that,  after  removing  several  remaining  obstacles,  "  he 
would  henceforth  trample  on  all  the  rights  of  neutrality !" 
Russia  and  Britain  were  to  be  destroyed.  An  expedition 
was  hence  planned  and  undertaken  by  Bonaparte  into 
Russia,  with  an  army  of  vast  preparation  !  an  army  of 
four  hundred  thousand  men;  the  best  appointed,  probably, 
that  was  ever  seen  to  move  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ! 
They  were  soon  hundreds  of  miles  in  the  enemy's  territo- 
ries, and  pressing  towards  the  heart  of  the  Russian  em- 
pire. But  it  ere  long  began  to  appear,  that  the  power  of 
Russia  was  not  to  be  immediately  crushed  ;  and  the  arms 
of  the  terrible  empire  were  not  invincible  !  In  a  general 
battle  at  Borodino,  in  which  80,000  men  fell  in  one  day, 
a  mortifying  conviction  was  forced  upon  the  invader,  that 
his  power  was  not  omnipotent.  It  seemed  doubtful  which 
army  might  claim  the  victory.  But  the  leader  of  the  in- 
vading army  was  suff'ered  to  force  his  way  onward  to 
the  ancient  capital  of  the  czars  of  the  north  ;  where  he 
was  made  to  read  the  death-warrant  of  his  cause.  For  he 
found  that,  through  the  astonishing  patriotism  of  his  ene- 
mies, a  sea  of  liquid  fire  had  been  destined  to  roll  over  that 
ancient  capital ;  that  the  habitations  of  250,000  people  had 
been  doomed  to  smoke  in  ashes,  that  they  might  afford  no 
accommodation  to  the  French.     The  astonishment  of  the 


CHAPTER   X.  13$ 

emperor,  and  of  his  invading  army,  is  related  by  Count 
Segur  (an  eyewitness)  as  dreadful !  He  had  led  his 
armies  hither,  fatigued  and  worn  down  ;  but  with  full  ex- 
pectation of  finding  the  best  of  winter-quarters,  with  pro- 
visions and  plunder,  far  more  than  they  could  manage. 
And  now,  to  find  the  whole  consumed  by  relentless  flames; 
he  seemed  to  read  the  death-warrant  of  his  army  !  They 
were  in  this  far  distant  and  frozen  region  of  Russia,  at 
the  commencement  of  a  tremendous  Russian  winter ! 
almost  naked,  and  destitute  of  food,  and  now  sunk  in  dis- 
couragement, with  not  a  ray  of  light  to  dawn  upon  them ! 
They  were  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  their  own  coun- 
try ;  in  the  heart  of  an  empire  of  a  powerful,  numerous, 
and  justly  enraged  foe,  fully  prepared  for  action,  and  in" 
tent  on  merited  vengeance  ! 

All  will  readily  believe,  when  assured,  that  the  rash 
emperor  and  his  army  at  once  commenced  their  retreat, 
and  fled  towards  their  own  region  !  Too  late  they  found 
the  fact,  that  they  were  plunged  in  a  fatal  snare,  had 
digged  a  pit,  and  fallen  into  it !  The  scenes  of  judgment 
upon  them  began  to  be  tremendous.  They  were  worn 
out  with  fatigue ;  dispirited,  famishing,  and  freezing ; 
and  surrounded  by  frightful  and  well-appointed  armies  of 
foes,  whom  their  invasion  had  rendered  furious,  and  intent 
on  vengeance  !  What  could  they  do  ?  The  worst  of  certain 
deaths,  with  all  their  horrors,  stared  them  in  the  face  ! 
The  French  emperor  attempted  to  parley  ;  and  to  obtain 
some  relief:  but  all  in  vain  !  He  was  pointedly  assured, 
that  not  a  word  should  be  heard  of  peace,  so  long  as  an 
invading  army  was  in  the  heart  of  Russia !  that  he  had 
come  uninvited  to  their  capital,  and  he  might  return  as  he 
could  !  The  furious  Russians  assured  him,  that  they 
were  so  far  from  being  prepared  to  close  the  campaign, 
that  they  had  but  just  opened  it ! 

The  scenes  of  horror  which  followed  baflle  all  descrip- 
tion, and  seem  too  dreadful  to  be  contemplated.  But,  as 
God  did  in  them  fulfil  some  of  his  predicted  judgments  on 
his  enemies  of  the  last  day ;  so  the  events  should  be 
piously  contemplated.  As  a  general  view  of  the  scenes, — 
this  northern  army  was  destroyed  !  and  their  emperor  fled 
home,  accompanied  by  but  one  man  !  Some  particulars 
shall  be  given. 

We  h£^ve  here  a  most  tremendous  reverse  to  the  affairs 


136  LECTURE    X. 

of  France  ;  which,  for  about  twenty-four  years,  had  been 
almost  uninterruptedly  successful,  to  the  vast  consternation 
of  the  world.  This  retreat  became  a  flighty  and  that  of 
the  most  disastrous  kind.  "  Come,  behold  the  works  of 
the  Lord  !  what  desolation  he  hath  made !"  Truly,  "  God 
is  known  by  the  judgments  which  he  executeth."  Defeats 
and  miseries  were  poured  upon  the  straggling  fugitive 
armies.  And  the  roads  were,  for  hundreds  of  miles, 
strewed  with  their  dead  and  dying.  Thousands  upon 
thousands  sunk  under  the  accumulated  horrors  of  cold, 
nakedness,  famine,  fatigue,  snow  storms,  the  sword,  and 
showers  of  balls  from  the  vengeful  legions  of  the  enemy. 
Count  Segur  (an  eyewitness)  gives  a  history  of  this 
retreat.  He  says  :  "  The  winter  now  overtook  us  ;  and, 
by  filling  up  the  measure  of  such  individual  suffering, 
put  an  end  to  that  mutual  support  which  had  hitherto  sus- 
tained us.  Henceforth  the  scene  presented  only  a  multi- 
tude of  insulated  and  individual  stragglers.  All  fraternity 
of  arms  was  forgotten;  all  the  bonds  of  social  feeling 
torn  asunder ;  excess  of  misery  had  brutalized  them.  A 
devouring  hunger  had  reduced  these  wretched  men  to  the 
mere  instinct  of  self-preservation ;  to  which  they  were 
ready  to  sacrifice  every  other  consideration.  The  rude 
and  barbarous  climate  seemed  to  have  communicated 
its  fury  to  them.  Like  the  worst  of  savages,  the  strong 
fell  upon  the  weak,  and  despoiled  them.  They  eagerly 
surrounded  the  dying,  and  often  waited  not  for  the  last 
sigh,  before  they  stripped  them.  When  a  horse  fell,  they 
rushed  upon  it,  tore  it  in  pieces,  and  snatched  the  morsel 
from  each  other's  mouth,  like  a  troop  of  famished  wolves. 
If  an  officer,  or  a  comrade,  fell  alongside  of  them,  or 
before  a  wheel  of  a  cannon,  it  was  in  vain  that  he  im- 
plored their  aid !  he  obtained  not  even  a  look.  All  the 
frozen  insensibilities  of  the  climate  had  passed  into  their 
hearts.  Its  rigidity  had  contracted  their  sentiments,  as 
well  as  their  features.  All,  except  a  few  chiefs,  were 
absorbed  by  their  own  sufferings,  and  terror  left  no  place 
for  pity.  To  stop  for  a  moment,  was  to  risk  their  own 
life.  In  this  scene  of  universal  destruction,  to  hold  out 
your  hand  to  your  comrade,  or  to  your  sinking  chief,  was 
an  admirable  effort  of  generosity.  When  unable  from 
total  exhaustion  to  proceed,  the  individuals  would  halt, 
while  winter  with  its   icy  hand   seized   on   them   for 


CHAPTER   X*  137 

its  prey.  It  was  then  that  in  vain  these  unfortunate 
beings, — benumbed  as  they  were, — endeavoured  to  rouse 
themselves  !  Voiceless,  insensible,  and  plunged  in  stu- 
por, they  would  move  forward,  perhaps,  a  few  paces,  like 
automatons  ;  but  the  blood,  already  freezing  in  their  veins, 
flowed  languidly  through  their  hearts,  and,  mounting  to 
their  heads,  made  them  stagger  like  drunken  men.  From 
their  eyes, — now  red  and  inflamed  by  looking  on  the 
snow,  by  smoke,  and  by  want  of  sleep, — there  sometimes 
seemed  to  flow  forth  tears  of  blood,  accompanied  by  pro- 
found sighs.  One  would  look  on  the  sky, — then  look  at 
us, — then  upon  the  ground,  with  a  fixed  and  haggish 
stare  of  consternation  ! — this  was  the  last  farewell. 
They  dropped  upon  their  knees,  and  then  upon  their 
hands,  moving,  for  an  instant,  from  right  to  left,  or  the 
reverse  ; — while  from  their  lips  escaped  the  most  agoniz- 
ing moans.  They  then  fell  prostrate  upon  the  snow, 
perhaps  disgorging  blood,  and  were  here  no  more ! 
Their  comrades  passed  by  them  without  ever  stepping 
aside ; — dreading  to  lengthen  their  march  by  a  single 
step.  They  even  turned  not  their  heads  to  look  at  them  ; 
as  the  slightest  motion  of  the  head,  to  the  left  or  right, 
was  attended  with  torture ;  the  hair  of  their  heads  and 
their  beards  being  frozen  into  a  solid  mass. 

Scenes  of  still  greater  horror  took  place  in  large  log- 
houses,  which  were  found,  at  certain  intervals,  along  the 
road.  Into  these,  soldiers  and  oflicers  would  rush,  hud- 
dled together  like  cattle.  The  living  not  having  strength 
to  remove  the  dead  that  were  close  by  the  fire,  sat  down 
upon  their  bodies,  until  their  own  turn  came  to  expire  ; — 
when  they  also  served  as  death-beds  to  others.  Some- 
times the  fire  would  communicate  itself  to  the  wood  of 
those  sheds,  and  then  all  within  the  walls, — already  half 
dead, — would  expire  in  the  flames.  In  Jaupranoni,  the 
soldiers  set  fire  to  houses,  in  order  to  warm  themselves  a 
few  minutes.  This  would  attract  crowds  of  wretched 
men,  some  of  whom  the  intensity  of  the  cold  had  ren- 
dered delirious,  who  would  rush  forward  like  madmen, 
gnashing  their  teeth,  and,  with  demoniac  laughter,  plunge 
themselves  into  the  flames,  where  they  perished  in  horrid 
convulsions.  Their  famished  companions  looked  on, 
without  affright !  and,  it  is  but  too  true,  that  some  of 
M2 


138  LECTURE   X. 

them  drew  the  half-roasted  bodies  from  the  flames,  and 
vemured  to  carry  to  their  lips  the  revolting  food  ! 

Those   fleeing    distracted  legions  came  to  the  River 
Berezina.     They  must  soon  cross,  or  perish,  as  their 
furious  foes  were  pressing  upon  them,  and  any  escape  to 
the  right  or  left  was  impossible.     Cannon,  arms,  imple- 
ments of  death,  threatened  to  destroy  them  at  once.     In 
despair  and  terror,  they  flew  towards  the  river,  which  was 
rolling  with  hills  of  ice.     Some  plunged  in,  and  perished. 
Most  of  them  laboured  to  gain  the  bridge,  over  which  the 
emperor  had  just  slipped,  and  fled  !     All  order  was  ban- 
ished.    The  roar  of  the  Russian  cannon  and  musketry 
filled  the  air ;  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  the  dead 
and  dying.     The  multitude  pressed  upon  each  other  to 
gain  the  bridge,  till  the  way  was  perfectly  choked.    Many 
were  suflbcated  and  trodden  to  death.    Many  hurled  their 
comrades  ofl"  the  bridge,  to  gain  their  places.    Thousands 
were  plunged  into  the  river,  and  lost  among  the  blocks  of 
ice.     The  air  resounded  with  the  shrieks  and  yells  of  the 
terrified  and  the  dying,  which  fell  upon  the  ear  when  the 
intervals  of  the  firing  of  the  Russians  could  permit  them 
to  be  heard ;  which  added  to  the  matchless  horrors  !     A 
great  part  of  the  residue  of  the  huge  army  of  the  north, 
which   till    now   remained,   here    sunk  in   death.     The 
bridge  over  the  river,  while  loaded  with  a  jam  of  French 
soldiers,  was  set  on  fire,  according  to  antecedent  arrange- 
ment, to  finish  the  fatal  scene.     Here  men  were  at  the 
same  time  frozen  and  burned  !     And  while  crowds  were 
pressing  upon  the  bridge,  and  upon  each  other,  the  whole 
bridge  gave  way,  and  all  the  multitudes  upon  it  were  pre- 
cipitated into  the  rolling  surges  among  the  blocks  of  ice, 
and  to  inevitable  death !     The  few  who  had  passed  the 
river  were  pursued,  and  most  of  them  destroyed.     Thus 
ended  this  huge  army  of  the  north !     The  origin  of  all 
the  mighty  operations  for  twenty-five  3^ears,  had  been  a 
design  to    destroy  the   Christian   religion,  and   all  civil 
liberty  from  the  earth.     And  the  angel  of  the  covenant 
interposed,  as  in  this  chapter,  and  blasted  the  impious 
design !     The  Russians  picked  up,  and  burned  in  piles, 
more  than  213,000  bodies  of  their  fleeing  foe.     And  but 
very  few  of  the  400,000  men  ever  reached  their  home. 

The   emperor,  thus  vanquished,  had   the   address  in 
France  to  raise  new  armies  ;  and  a  number  more  of  great 


CHAPTER  X»  139 

battles  were  fought  in  the  closing  scenes  of  the  seven 
thunders  in  our  text.  In  the  battle  of  Grossgorchen, 
which  place  was  taken  and  retaken  six  times  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  20,000  men  fell.  In  the  battle  of  Baut- 
zen,— a  general  action  of  nearly  four  days  continuance, 
and  with  about  300,000  on  both  sides  engaged, — about 
50,000  fell.  The  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  so  called, 
now  revolted  from  their  new  imperial  master,  Bonaparte, 
and  400,000  men  were  soon  in  arms  against  him,  under 
a  host  of  the  first  generals  of  the  age.  A  number  of 
furious  battles  were  fought,  before  the  noted  battle  of 
Leipsic  in  Germany.  In  this,  all  the  remaining  armies 
were  now  concentrated.  The  chizens  of  Leipsic  could 
behold,  from  their  steeples,  the  armies  of  the  French  en-^ 
circling  their  city.  And  soon  they  could  discover  the 
armies  of  the  allied  enemies  of  France  forming  another 
exterior  circle.  The  work  of  death  commenced,  with 
six  hundred  cannon  on  both  sides,  which,  with  more  than 
half  a  million  of  small  arms,  presented  a  frightful  prepa- 
ration for  blood  and  carnage.  The  furious  contest  raged 
for  a  day,  without  bringing  any  thing  to  a  decision.  The 
second  day  was  then  taken  up,  by  mutual  consent,  in 
making  preparation  on  both  sides,  to  renew,  on  the  third 
day,  the  fiery  combat.  The  third  day  dawned,  on  which 
it  was  conceived  the  fate  of  Europe  and  the  world  rested  ! 
Five  of  the  most  able  generals  of  Europe  (Blucher,  Witt- 
genstein, Barckley  de  Tolley,  Bernadotte,  and  Schwart- 
zenberg)  led  the  allied  armies  on  the  one  hand ;  and 
Bonaparte,  with  his  generals,  on  the  other.  Monarchs  of 
allied  nations  were  present,  to  engage  as  aids  to  these 
powerful  generals,  or  to  stand  as  anxious  spectators  of 
the  scene  !  The  work  of  death  commenced,  and  before 
nine  o'clock  it  raged  through  the  whole  lines.  The  dav 
was  dreadful.  The  French  were  defeated,  with  the  loss 
of  40,000  men.  An  equal  number,  probably,  were  slain 
on  the  other  side.  And  the  confusion  and  terror  of  the 
French  emperor,  in  his  retreat,  were  exceeded  only  by  his 
flight  from  Russia  on  the  preceding  year.  The  conse- 
quent slaughter  of  French  garrisons,  between  Leipsic 
and  the  French  capital,  were  most  disastrous  to  the  latter. 
The  vanquished  emperor  entered  France  a  second  time  as 
a  fugitive,  and  demanded  of  his  astonished  people  a  levy 
of  300,000  men.     The  victorious   combined  armies  of 


140  LECTURE    X. 

300,000  men  followed  him.  Further  scenes  of  carnage 
ensued,  till  Paris  was  taken  by  the  combined  powers, 
invading  in  their  turn ;  and  the  noted  emperor  was  van- 
quished, and  banished  to  the  little  island  of  Elba ! 

After  a  season,  Bonaparte  again  found  means  to  appear 
in  France  at  the  head  of  a  mighty  army ;  and  the  com- 
bined powers  were  once  more  compelled  to  take  the  field 
against  him.  But  in  the  general  and  tremendous  battle  of 
Waterloo,  he  was  again  defeated,  and  lost  his  empire,  and 
was  banished  to  the  desolate  island  of  St.  Helena,  where 
he  ended  his  days  ! 

In  the  scenes  of  carnage  and  terror  which  thus  closed, 
in  which  the  seven  thunders  of  war  unitedly  roared  for 
about  a  quarter  of  a  century,  we  find  events  which  seem 
fully  adequate  to  the  sublime  figures  in  the  text,  and 
which  do  most  fully  agree  with  them,  both  in  point  of 
chronology,  and  in  the  description  of  the  events.  The 
remaining  part  of  the  chapter  is  deferred  to  the  next 
lecture. 

It  is  striking  to  reflect  how  fully  these  events  accord 
with  other  prophetic  descriptions  of  them  in  the  same 
period,  as  may  be  made  to  appear.  It  may  be  shown 
under  the  vials,  that  they  are  the  same  with  the  fifth 
vial,  poured  upon  the  seat  (throne)  of  the  papal  beast, 
and  filling  his  kingdom  with  darkness.  Rev.  xvi.  10, 
11.  They  are  thought  to  be  the  same  with  those  in 
Zeph.  iii.  6,  7,  where  (just  before  the  battle  of  the  great 
day,  which  is  there  given,  verse  8,  to  introduce  the 
Millennium,  verse  9) — God  says,  "  I  have  cut  off  the 
nations  ;  their  towers  are  desolate ;  I  made  their 
streets  waste ;  their  cities  are  destroyed,"  &c.  The 
scenes  are  thought  to  be  the  same  with  the  dragon's  cast- 
ing out  of  his  mouth  floods  of  water,  to  cause  the  de- 
struction of  the  church,  and  the  earth  helping  the  woman, 
and  swallowing  up  the  floods.  Rev.  xii.  16.  The  same 
with  the  description  in  Dan.  ii.  41-43,  where  the  feet  and 
the  toes  of  the  great  image — meaning  the  latest  remains 
of  the  secular  Roman  empire — are  "part  of  iron,  and 
part  of  clay  ;  partly  strong,  and  partly  broken,"  until,  under 
the  seventh  vial,  the  stone  (Christ)  shall  smite  them,  and 
grind  them  to  powder,  in  the  final  battle  just  antecedent  to 
the  Millennium.  And  they  are  the  same  with  the  descrip- 
tions given  of  the  same  power  as  the  beast  from  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  Rev.  xvii.,  wliich  is  believed  to  have  been 


CHAPTER   X.  141 

fulfilled  in  the  explosion  of  French  atheism,  and  the  hor- 
rors of  their  revolution  and  consequent  scenes  of  blood. 
They  are  also  the  same  with  that  descent  of  Christ,  given 
in  chapter  xviii.,  where  its  effects  upon  the  papal  see,  and 
upon  its  doting  multitudes,  are  described. 

How  terrible  are  the  judgments  of  Christ  against  his 
enemies  !  He  has  plenty  of  justice  for  them,  as  well  as 
of  mercy  for  his  friends.  He  proclaimed  not  only  the  ac- 
ceptable year  of  the  Lord ;  but  the  day  of  vengeance  of 
our  God !  The  latter  he  executes  as  "  Head  over  all 
things  to  the  church !"  When  a  violent,  extensive,  and 
armed  system  of  atheism  arose  in  the  French  revolution 
of  1789,  which  threatened  to  banish  Christianity,  as  well 
as  civil  liberty,  from  the  world :  our  blessed  Captain  of 
salvation  saw  fit  to  represent  himself  as  making  the 
descent  in  our  text.  He  assumed  the  glorious  appear- 
ance there  noted,  and  came  down  !  "  Darkness  was  under 
his  feet,  and  he  did  fly  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind !" 
"  At  the  brightness  that  went  before  him,  his  thick  cloud 
passed — hailstones,  and  coals  of  fire !  The  Lord  thundered, 
the  Highest  gave  his  voice — hailstones  and  coals  of  fire ! 
He  sent  out  his  arrows,  and  scattered  them ;  he  shot  out 
his  lightnings,  and  discomfited  them  !  Then  the  channels 
of  the  waters  were  seen,  and  the  foundations  of  the  world 
were  discovered  at  thy  rebuke,  O  Lord,  at  the  blast  of 
the  breath  of  thy  nostrils  !"  This  the  church  may  sing, 
and  may  add,  "  He  sent  from  above,  he  took  me,  he  drew 
me  out  of  great  waters !"  Such  a  protector  has  the 
church,  and  such  an  antagonist  has  her  persecutors! 
The  latter  may  seem  to  triumph  ;  but  "  salvation  is  of  the 
Lord;"  and  God  will  make  bare  his  holy  arm  in  the 
sight  of  all  nations,  and  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  see 
his  glory. 

Behold  then,  O  Zion,  the  works  of  the  Lord !  De- 
voutly reflect  on  his  glory,  and  his  kind  expostulations. 
"  Wherefore  didst  thou  fear,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?"  "  In 
nothing  terrified  by  your  enemies,  which  is  to  them  an  evi- 
dent token  of  perdition;  but  unto  you  of  salvation,  and 
that  of  God."  "  Who  art  thou  that  thou  shouldst  be  afraid 
of  a  man  that  shall  die,  and  of  the  son  of  man  that  shall  be 
made  as  grass  ;  and  forgettest  the  Lord  thy  maker  who  hath 
stretched  out  the  heavens,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
earth ;  and  thou  hast  feared  continually  because  of  the 
fury  of  the  oppressor,  as  though  he  were  ready  to  destroy  ; 


142  LECTURE    XI. 

and  where  is  the  fury  of  the  oppressor  ?"  The  rainbow 
on  the  head  of  Christ  in  our  text,  may  be  seen  by  the  eye 
of  faith  depicted  on  every  dark  cloud  of  judgment,  be  it 
ever  so  terrific.  Behold  the  sun  of  righteousness  shin- 
ing upon  it,  and  to  the  eye  of  faith,  the  rainbow  will  appear. 
God  with  us,  in  his  infinite  faithfulness  in  these  things, 
says,  "  It  is  I ;  be  not  afraid  !"  "  Say  unto  Zion,  Behold 
your  God."  "  Your  God  will  come  with  a  recompense, 
he  will  save  you."  "  Be  strong  in  the  Lord  then,  and  in 
the  power  of  his  might ;  that  ye  may  be  able  to  stand  in 
the  evil  day !" 


LECTURE   XI. 


REVELATION    X. 


Ver.  4.  And  when  the  seven  thunders  had  uttered 
their  voices,  I  was  about  to  write  :  and  I  heard  a 
voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me,  Seal  up  those 
things  which  the  seven  thunders  uttered,  and  write 
them  not. 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  preceding  lecture,  that  the 
notable  descent  of  Christ  in  this  chapter,  must  have  al- 
luded to  the  scene  of  judgments  introduced  in  the  French 
revolution  of  1789.  These  seven  thunders  prefigured  its 
wars,  which  were  most  terrible.  Some  ideas  of  the  import 
of  these  seven  thunders,  seem  to  have  been  communicated 
to  John,  which  he  was  about  to  commit  to  writing  ;  but  he 
was  forbidden  to  do  it.  This  is  not  to  be  understood  as 
though  the  import  of  these  seven  thunders  was  never  to 
be  known  on  earth.  For  if  they  were  never  to  be  known  ; 
why  were  they  given  at  all  ?  They  were  given,  and  left 
on  record  for  man,  as  well  as  were  the  other  prophecies ; 
and  their  being  sealed  up,  was  only  till  the  time  of  their 
fulfilment,  as  may  be  shown  from  Daniel's  prophecy,  and 
as  we  have  indicated  in  the  fact,  that  the  "  little  hook''^  in 
the  hand  of  the  angel  (Christ),  when  the  event  takes  place 
in  our  text,  is  presented  as  open.     This  sealing  up  of  the 


CHAPTER   X.  143 

true  sense  of  the  scene  is  copied  from  the  visions  of 
Daniel  of  the  same  event.  Light  will  be  reflected  upon 
this  tenth  of  the  Revelation  from  what  we  have  in  Daniel, 
chapter  xii.  The  prophet  Daniel  had  predicted  the  rise 
of  the  wilful  power  of  the  last  days,  as  shall  by-and-by 
be  shown.  It  is  said,  Dan.  x.  1,  that  "he  understood  the 
thing,  and  had  understanding  of  the  vision,"  even  as  is 
implied  in  our  text,  that  John  had  some  understanding  of 
the  things  uttered  by  the  seven  thunders.  But  Daniel 
was  commanded  (Dan.  xii.  4)  to  "  shut  up  the  words  and 
seal  the  book  even  to  the  time  of  the  end !"  as  again  in 
verse  9,  "  Go  thy  way,  Daniel,  for  the  words  are  closed 
up,  and  sealed  till  the  time  of  the  end  !"  precisely  as  John 
was  directed  in  our  text,  to  "  seal  up  the  things  which  the 
seven  thunders  uttered,  and  write  them  not !"  The  former 
is  the  parent  text  of  the  latter ;  both  being  of  the  same 
period  and  event.  The  passage  in  Daniel  is  followed  in 
the  same,  verse  4th,  by  information  of  an  event,  which 
should  betoken  the  time  when  this  seal  upon  the  words 
should  be  taken  off,  viz.  the  missionary  spirit  of  the  last 
day,  when  "  many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  knowledge 
shall  be  increased  !"  or  when  the  missionary  angel  of  the 
last  day  shall  fly  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  nation,  and 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people ;  then  may  the  seal  be 
taken  off!  The  little  book  in  the  hand  of  Christ  shall  then 
be  found  open.  The  event  of  this  judgment  shall  then 
have  burst  upon  the  world,  and  may  be  understood.  We 
may  here  note,  that  the  prohibition  relative  to  this  partic- 
ular prophecy's  being  not  to  be  understood  till  fulfilled,  is 
so  far  from  indicating  that  other  prophecies  generally  shall 
not  be  understood  till  accomplished,  that  the  indication 
is  just  the  reverse.  The  prohibition  here  is  a  special  case^ 
and  attends  not  the  other  prophecies ;  but  the  divine  com- 
mands relative  to  them  are,  that  they  may  and  should  be 
understood,  even  before  their  fulfilment,  at  least  in  some 
good  degree,  as  has  been  shown. 

We  will  now  consult  the  parent  prophecy  in  Daniel, 
relative  to  the  events  in  this  tenth  chapter  of  the  Revela- 
tion. We  find  in  Dan.  x.  1,  "a  thing  was  revealed  to 
Daniel ;  and  the  thing  was  true ;  but  the  time  appointed 
was  long !"  This  remark,  and  all  that  is  said  upon  its 
event,  go  to  assure  us,  that  the  thing  then  to  be  revealed, 
was  a  new  event  of  the  last  days :  and  the  prohibition 


144  LECTURE   XI. 

resting  upon  it  (which  has  been  noted),  shows  that  it  was 
something  besides,  and  subsequent  to  popery,  and  the 
grand  imposture  of  Mohammed.  These  had  before  been 
predicted,  as  well  as  the  great  eastern  monarchies ;  but 
now  some  new  and  subsequent  event  of  the  last  days  was 
to  be  given,  to  close  his  book ;  and  this  was  to  be  sealed 
up  till  it  was  fulfilled.  No  hint  was  given  that  the  time, 
before  the  antecedent  event  predicted  in  Daniel,  should  be 
long :  but  this  new  thing  to  be  at  last  predicted,  must  be 
attended  with  this  notice,  that  "  a  thing  (clearly  implying 
a  new  thing)  was  revealed  to  Daniel ;  and  the  thing  was 
true  ;  but  the  time  appointed  was  long  /"  And  he  shows  it  to 
have  been  a  thing  connected  with  the  battle  of  the  great  day 
of  God,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  ;  as  chap.  x.  14, 
and  xii.  1,  where  the  event  was  to  befall  the  people  oj 
Daniel ;  and  was  to  be  the  occasion  of  Christ's  standing 
up  for  them,  and  bringing  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as 
never  was  since  there  was  a  nation. 

With  these  things  in  view,  we  will  proceed  to  examine 
the  thing  which  was  thus  revealed  to  Daniel.  The  whole 
of  Dan.  X.  is  taken  up  in  preparation  for  predicting 
this  then  far  future  event ;  as  is  also  chap.  xi.  to  verse  35. 
A  line  of  kings  is  given  in  order  to  introduce  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  a  noted  tyrannical  and  persecuting  king  of 
Syria,  as  a  type  of  the  infidel  power  to  be  predicted.  This 
type,  thus  introduced,  occupies  from  verse  21  to  verse  35. 
And  then,  as  is  common  in  predictions  of  type  and  anti-' 
type^  the  wTiter  slides,  with  no  formal  notice,  from  the 
former  to  the  latter,  and  gives  the  event  which  was 
designed. 

Dan.  xi.  36,  "  And  the  king  shall  do  according  to  his 
will."  By  a- king,  in  such  prophecies,  is  meant  not  any 
individual  man,  but  a  power,  whether  an  empire,  or  king- 
dom, or  republic.  That  a  new  subject  is  in  this  36th  verse 
introduced,  is  evident  from  what  has  been  said  ;  and  from 
this,  that  the  power  described  before  this  verse  was 
clearly  Antiochus,  who  lived  centuries  before  the  Chris- 
tian era ;  but  the  being  introduced  in  the  36th  verse  is  a 
power  of  the  last  days,  and  which  falls  in  the  battle  of  the 
great  day  of  God,  at  the  close  of  the  noted  1260  years,  as 
is  shown  in  the  following  passages  in  Daniel.  A  great 
power  should  arise,  wilful  in  violent  outrage  of  all  law  I  It 
follows,  "  and  he  shall  exalt  himself,  and  magnify  himself 


CHAPTER    X.  145 

above   every  god."     By  a  god  here  is  meant  king,   or 
civil  ruler.     "  I  said  ye   are  gods."     He  shall  magnify 
himself  above  every  civil  ruler  ;  or,  a  war  with  kings,  shall 
be    one  of    his   characteristics.      His   atheism   follows: 
"  and  shall  speak  marvellous  things  against  the  God  of 
gods.^^     He  will,  in  his  early  existence,  deny  the  God  of 
heaven.    Verse  37  :  "  Neither  shall  he  regard  the  God  of 
his  fathers :"  or,  the  power  so  long  venerated  by  his  an- 
cestors as  a  god, — the  pope, — he  shall  at  first  contemptu- 
ously reject  and  put  down,  however  he   may  afterward, 
— from  views  merely  secular, — in  a  degree,  establish  him 
again  : — "  nor  the  desire  of  women,"  it  there   follows. 
With  all  his  outrageous  licentiousness  and  lusts,  he  shall 
wage  war  with  the  female  sex ;  as  though  all  the  tender 
regard  for  them  which  God  has  implanted  in  the  human 
breast  had  become  extinct.     Most  fully  did  the  French 
fulfil  all  this.     The   latter  they  fulfilled  when   they  in 
wanton  barbarity  beheaded  the  innocent  queen  of  their 
own  nation,  and  followed  up  the  event  with  the  outrageous 
execution  of  250,000  of  their  own  innocent  females ;  as 
was  attested  and  well  known  at  that  day.     They  also 
abolished  tlie  institution  of  marriage,  declaring  it  to  be  an 
insufferable  monopoly ;  and  thus  subjected  their  females 
to  promiscuous  brutal   lusts  !     AVell  might  such  a  trait  of 
character  as  this  be  hinted  of  this  infidel  power  of  the  last 
days,  by  its  not  "  regarding  the  desire  of  women  .'"     Paul 
gives  the  same  trait  of  the  same  character,  thus  :  "  with- 
out natural  affection  ;"  when  describing,  in  2  Tim.  iii.  1-4, 
this  power  of  infidelity  in  the  last  days  ;  which  see.    The 
most  fit  "  ?iatural  affection''''  of  man  for  our  female  race, 
w^ould  be  thus  perverted ;  even  that  virtuous  tender  affec- 
tion for  the  dear  and  dependent  ''helpmeet'"  of  man,  des- 
tined to  be  the  virtuous   mother  of  his    offspring!    this 
affection,  implanted  by  the  Creator  in  the  breast  of  man, 
should  be  by  this  power  of  iniquity,  attempted  to  be  torn 
tip  !     This  stroke  has  been  supposed  by  some  to  be  the 
same  with  that  in  1   Tim.  iv.   3,  "  forbidding  to  marry  ;" 
which  the  papal  see  fulfilled  in  relation  to  its  clergy.    But 
it  clearly  belongs  to  another  and  subsequent  system  of 
infidelity.     See  and  compare  1   Tim  iv.  1,  with  2  Tim. 
iii.  1,  and  you  will  see  the  latter  is  an  advance  from  the 
former.     And  never  did  popery  so  fully  take  to  itself  the 
N 


146  LECTURE  KI. 

character  of  not  regarding  the  desire  of  women,  as  did  the 
infidel  power  that  burst  forth  in  France  in  1789. 

Daniel  proceeds,  verse  38  ;  "But  in  his  estate  shall  he 
honour  the  god  of  forces :"  or,  when  this  licentious 
power  shall  come  into  operation,  as  having  gained  an  ex- 
istence, he  shall  "  honour  the  god  of  forces :"  shall 
honour  mahuzzim^  (in  the  original);  fortresses,  military 
munitions.  The  word  in  the  singular,  mahoz,  imports,  a 
tower,  fortress,  strength.  In  the  plural  then,  and  con- 
nected with  a  huge  military  force,  it  must  mean  its  de- 
pendence on  fortresses,  or  military  munitions, — on  gene- 
rals, and  the  arts  of  war.  This  was  the  case  indeed  with 
the  French.  If  they  had  denounced  all  subordination,  all 
authority  and  rule  ;  yet  were  their  own  eyes  necessarily 
turned  to  a  subordination  to  their  own  generals,  leaders, 
and  the  arts  of  war.  And  this  soon  prepared  the  way  for 
what  follows.  "  And  a  god  whom  their  fathers  knew  not, 
shall  they  honour  with  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious  stones, 
and  pleasant  things."  An  emperor,  unknown  to  their  fa- 
thers, shall  they  soon  receive  at  the  head  of  this  military 
despotism,  with  the  greatest  magnificence.  This  now  is 
all  plain  history.  Bonaparte  was  this  new  gotJ,  unknown 
to  their  fathers.  Verse  39  :  "  Thus  shall  he  (this  new 
power  of  atheism)  do  in  the  most  strong  holds  with  a 
strange  god,  whom  he  shall  acknowledge,  and  shall  in- 
crease with  glory.  And  he  (this  new  emperor)  shall 
cause  them  (his  people)  to  rule  over  many  ;  and  shall  di- 
vide the  land  for  gain."  The  armies  of  the  new  empire, 
with  their  foreign  god  at  their  head,  shall  overrun  the 
strongholds  of  surrounding  nations,  whom  he  will  sub- 
due ;  and  he  will  divide  out  the  conquered  nations  among 
favourites  for  his  own  aggrandizement. 

The  prophecy  proceeds,  verse  40,  to  give  a  temporary 
prostration  of  this  wilful  empire,  by  a  furious  combination 
of  nations  from  the  north,  like  a  whirlwind  ;  composed  of 
armies  of  cavalry,  infiintry,  and  a  navy,  or  a  naval  power 
("  with  chariots,  and  horsemen,  and  many  ships").     This 

*  In  the  margin  of  many  great  bibles,  this  word  mahuzzim,  is 
rendered  '''■  go(Vs  protectors V  But  this  is  a  phrase,  and  not  a  cor- 
rect rendering.  And  it  is  thus  phrased,  to  accommodate  it,  mis- 
takingly,  to  popery,  as  though  it  related  lo  their  tutelar  saints.  But 
it  does  not  thus. 


CHAPTER    X.  147 

whirlwind  from  the  north,  for  a  time  prostrates  his 
forests  (armies),  an<]  drives  him  into  his  characteristic 
non-existence ;  "  who  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is  !"  who 
had  a  wound  by  the  sword  and  did  live !"  whose  feet  and 
toes  are  "  part  of  iron,  and  part  of  clay  ;  partly  strong,  and 
partly  broken  !"  Yet  he  again  appears  in  this  prophecy 
of  Daniel,  and  does  wonders,  till  he  goes  into  perdition  at 
the  battle  of  the  great  day,  when  (Daniel  informs  us  at 
the  close  of  the  chapter)  "  he  comes  to  his  end,  and  none 
shall  help  him!"  Most  perfectly  is  this  picture,  drawn  to 
the  prostration  in  verse  40,  thus  far  fidfilled  in  events  in 
France,  and  in  her  history  of  modern  days.  And  most 
clear  is  the  light  thus  reflected  on  the  descent  of  Christ, 
and  the  seven  thunders,  in  Rev.  x.  This  tenth  of  Revela- 
tion is  thus  but  an  inspired  comment  on  Daniel's  predic- 
tion of  the  rise  of  that  wilful  power  of  the  last  days. 

Ver.  5.  And  the  angel  which  I  saw  stand  upon  the 
sea  and  upon  the  earth,  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven, 

6.  And  sware  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever  and 
€ver,  who  created  heaven,  and  the  things  that  therein 
are,  and  the  earth,  and  the  things  that  therein  are, 
and  the  sea,  and  the  things  which  are  therein,  that 
there  should  be  time  no  longer : 

7.  But  in  the  days  of  the  voice  of  the  seventh 
angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the  mystery  of 
Ood  should  be  finished,  as  he  hath  declared  to  his 
servants  the  prophets. 

We  must  here  again  have  recourse  to  the  parent 
texts  in  Daniel's  last  chapter.  After  he  had  seen  the 
things  just  noted,  he  beholds  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant 
(Christ)  standing  upon  the  waters ;  and  heard  him  inter- 
rogated, "  how  long  it  should  be  to  the  end  of  those  won- 
ders ?"  Or,  when  shall  the  wilful  power  (here  just  de- 
scribed) go  into  perdition  ? — not  when  one  dynasty  of  it 
shall  be  prostrated,  and  its  power  of  iniquity  be  for  a 
time  checked  :  for  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet 
is,  may  have  a  succession  of  powerful  leaders,  as  had  the 
Roman  empire  in  the  first  reign  of  its  imperial  head,  in 
early  days.  Those  feet  and  toes  of  the  image,  formed  oi 
iron  and  clay,  may  break  before  its  final  fall,  and  its  parts 


148  LEcruiiE  X. 

"not  cleave  one  to  another,"  as  Daniel*  assures  shall  be 
the  case,  Dan.  ii.  40-45.  This  beast  from  the  bottom- 
less pit  will  know  full  well  the  arts  of  hidings  in  his  mid- 
night caverns,  and  of  there  healing  his  wounds  ! 

But  the  question  here  asked  of  Christ  was,  When  shall 
that  deep  and  fatal  system  end  ? — that  system  which  no- 
thing will  utterly  destroy  but  the  exterminating  fire  of  the 
great  and  notable  day  of  the  liOrd  ! — when  shall  this  ex- 
terminating event  take  place.  Upon  the  question,  the 
angel  (the  same  with  that  in  our  text),  lifts  up  his  hand  to 
heaven,  and  swears  by  him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 
"that  it  should  be  for  a  time,  times,  and  a  half  time! 
And  when  he  shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the 
power  of  the  holy  people,  all  those  things  shall  be  ful- 
filled." The  battle  of  the  great  day  then,  in  which  this 
impious  system  goes  into  perdition,  we  here  learn,  is  at 
the  close  of  the  notable  1260  years !  All  agree  that  a 
time  is  a  year ;  times,  two  years  ;  and  half  a  time,  half  a 
year  ;  each  day  in  the  account  standing  for  a  year  ;  and 
each  year  being  reckoned  of  360  days,  from  the  views  of 
the  ancients.  This  time  then,  is  1260  years  ; — the  noted 
time  in  prophecy  for  the  residence  of  the  church  in  the 
wilderness !  The  probable  commencement  of  this  noted 
period  will  be  shown  in  the  lecture  on  the  papal  beast,  in 
Rev.  xiii.  1 1,  to  end.  The  thing  decided  by  the  oath  of 
the  Angel  of  the  covenant  here,  is,  that  this  power  shall 
be  destroyed  at  the  close  of  the  1260  years — that  the 
time  of  its  duration,  after  it  arose,  was  from  the  time  of 
that  rise,  till  the  close  of  the  1260  years.  And  that  oath 
of  the  angel,  in  Daniel,  gives  the  exact  sense  of  the  oath 
of  Christ,  in  our  text,  which  is  but  a  comment  upon  it. 

In  the  latter,  his  words  are,  "  chronos  ouk  estai  eti !" — 
rendered  in  our  translations,  "there  should  be  time  no 
longer".  Granting  the  Greek  words  are  capable  of  giving 
this  sense  ;  tiiey  are  no  less  capable  of  giving  the  following 
— "  the  time  shall  not  be  yet"  (but  clearly  meaning  that  it 
shall  not  be  long  deferred).  The  parent  text,  in  Daniel, 
shows  that  the  latter  is  the  correct  rendering  here — as  also 
does  the  following  verse  in  our  text :  "  But  in  the  days  of  the 
seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the  mystery 
of  God  shall  be  finished,  as  he  hath  declared  to  his  ser- 
vants the  prophets  ;"  alluding,  no  doubt,  peculiarly  to  this 
parent  text  in  Daniel.     We  hence  learn  that  the  seventh 


CHAPTER  X.  149 

trumpet  is  future,  at  the  time  in  our  text,  but  not  far  future. 
And  the  utter  destruction  of  this  enormous  influence  of 
infidehty  would  not  be  till  then,  and  should  be  no  longer 
deferred  than  to  that  event.  For  the  seventh  trumpet  is 
to  destroy  this  very  power,  and  all  that  is  found  wickedly 
connected  with  it.  But  while  the  sentiment  of  the  oath 
of  Christ  in  our  text,  rests  on  the  sentiment  of  his  own 
oath  in  Daniel,  and  hence  must  mean  the  same  thing  ;  its 
phraseology  goes  to  correct  a  mistake,  prevalent  with 
many,  in  the  course  of  the  terrors  which  were  to  attend 
the  rise  and  progress  of  this  system  from  the  world 
below,  viz.  that  this  is  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of 
God  !  The  oath  says,  No  !  that  event  is  not  yet :  but  in 
the  seventh  trumpet  (which  is  still  future,  though  not  far 
distant),  the  scene  shall  be  accomplished  !  But  the  hor- 
rors of  this  descent  of  Christ,  and  of  the  seven  thunders, 
are  antecedent  to,  and  distinct  from  the  battle  of  the  great 
day, — the  seventh  trumpet.  And  the  whole  union  be- 
tween Daniel  and  John,  upon  this  subject,  shows  that 
these  two  events  are  distinct ;  though  the  former  may  be 
most  naturally  mistaken  by  many  for  the  latter.  And  it 
was  shown,  in  the  preceding  lecture,  that  other  prophecies 
have  allusions  to  these  two  events,  as  distinct,  and  at 
some  distance  from  each  other.  Joel  assures  us  "  the 
sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into 
blood,  before  the  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  comes." 
The  sun  of  regal  authority  should  be  darkened,  and  the 
moon  of  armies  turned  to  blood,  before  the  seventh  trum- 
pet,— and  distinctly  from  it.  Our  Saviour,  in  his  pre- 
dicted coming,  Matt,  xxiv.,  Mark  xiii.  and  Luke  xxi.  mani- 
festly includes  in  this  his  prediction,  his  coming  in  the  battle 
of  the  great  day  of  God  to  destroy  Antichrist.  (To  be 
convinced  of  this,  read  2  Thess.  ii.  and  Rev.  xvi.  15, 
and  its  connexion.)  And  among  the  signs  of  this  com- 
ing of  Christ,  in  the  battle  of  that  great  day,  are  "  wars, 
and  rumours  of  wars  ;"  meaning  that  there  should  be  such 
a  signal  course  of  wars,  as  to  seem  to  imply  that  there 
never  were  wars  before.  This  is  the  same,  probably, 
with  the  seven  thunders  in  our  text.  And  he  there  adds, 
"  See  that  ye  be  not  troubled''' — in  Luke, "  be  not  terrified" 
— implying  that  those  wars  should  be  peculiarly  terrify- 
ing; and  then  our  Saviour  adds,  as  in  his  oath  in  our  text, 
*'  the  end  (the  closing  scene)  shall  not  be  yet :" — as  in 
N2 


150  LECTURE    XI. 

Matthew — in  Luke,  "  For  these  things  shall  first  come  to 
pass,  but  the  end  shall  not  be  by-and-by,"  or  immediately  I 
We  have  here  the  same  sentiment  with  that  in  our  text — 
"  The  time  is  not  yet,  but  in  the  days  of  the  seventh  an- 
gel, when  he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the  mysteries  of  God 
shall  he  finished  !" 

These  seven  thunders  terrified  the  world  from  the  year 
1789,  for  about  twenty-five  years  ;  till  the  whirlwind  from 
the  north,  Dan.  xi.  40,  prostrated  a  dynasty  of  that  power, 
and  gave  to  the  world  a  temporary  quietus  ;  and  those  ter- 
rors were  indeed  mistaken,  by  many,  for  the  seventh 
trumpet. 

Ver.  8.  And  the  voice  which  I  heard  from  heaven 
spake  unto  me  again,  and  said,  Go  and  take  the  little 
book  which  is  open  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  which 
standeth  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth. 

9.  And  I  went  unto  the  angel,  and  said  unto  him, 
Give  me  the  little  book.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Take 
it,  and  eat  it  up;  and  it  shall  make  thy  belly  bitter, 
but  it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth  sweet  as  honey. 

10.  And  I  took  the  little  book  out  of  the  angel's, 
hand,  and  ate  it  up  ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth  sweet 
as  honey  :  and  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly 
was  bitter. 

11.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Thou  must  prophesy 
again  before  many  peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues^ 
and  kings. 

Tlie  ambassador  of  Christ  is  here  directed  to  go  and 
take  the  little  open  book,  which  was  in  the  hand  of  the 
Angel.  It  was  not  given  for  nothing,  its  being  open  was 
not  without  meaning.  Its  contents — long  sealed  up — 
should  now  be  known.  The  time  had  now  arrived  when 
the  seal  upon  it  should  be  taken  ofl,  and  its  contents  ascer- 
tained. The  faitliful  minister  goes  to  Christ,  and  prays 
for  the  little  book.  The  true  sense  of  Christ's  predictions 
must  be  learned  from  hiyn,  liis  word  and  spirit,  in  view  of 
his  signal  providences.  And  such  teaching  must  be  from 
him  devoutly  sought ;  and  wlien  the  humble  learner  says, 
Give  me,  I  pray  thee,  the  little  hook  !  Christ  M'iil  say,  Take 
it !     Yea,  "  take  and  eat  it."     "  I^et  him  that  readeth  un- 


CHAPTER    X.  151 

derstand."  "Thy  word  was  found  (says  the  prophet), 
and  I  did  eat  it."  Ttiis  is  the  Bible  expression  of  de- 
voutly and  diligently  studying  the  prophetic  scriptures^ 
and  the  great  passing  events  of  Providence  as  fulfilling 
them.  This  is  the  true  discerning  of  the  signs  of  the 
times.  "  Ye  hypocrites ;  ye  can  discern  the  face  of 
the  sky;  how  is  it  that  ye  cannot  discern  the  signs 
of  the  times  ?"  It  was  noted,  in  a  past  lecture,  that 
each  of  the  four  lumig  creatures,  as  an  emblem  of  the 
gospel  ministry,  when  a  seal  opens  a  new  signal  event, 
calls,  "  Come  and  see  !"  People  have  a  right  to  inquire 
of  their  spiritual  guides,  "  Watchman,  what  of  the  night  ?" 
And  the  watchman  should  be  able  to  give  a  correct 
answer. 

John  finds,  on  eating  this  little  book,  what  he  was  before 
assured  would  be  the  case — "  and  it  was  in  my  mouth 
sweet  as  honey  ;  but  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly 
was  bitter."  The  first  discovery  of  the  contents  of  this 
little  symbolic  book,  was  sweet.  To  learn  the  true  sense 
of  these  prophetic  scriptures,  and  the  correct  view  of 
their  events — to  learn  that  God  has  thus  renewedly  taken 
in  hand  the  blessed  work  of  building  up  Zion — that  the 
time  has  come  for  many  to  run  to  and  fro,  and  that  know- 
ledge shall  be  increased  ;  these  things  afford  to  the  true 
preachers  of  righteousness,  and  the  friends  of  Zion,  ex- 
quisite pleasure.  But  when  the  subject  is  well  digested 
and  understood  ;  when  the  terrors  connected  with  its  fulfil- 
ment,— of  judgments  upon  enemies,  and  especially  of  signal 
trials  to  the  people  of  God,  shall  be  correctly  considered; 
these  contents  of  the  little  open  book  are  found  to  be  bit- 
ter, and  similar  to  the  roll  of  Ezekiel,  that  was  "  full  of 
lamentation,  and  mourning,  and  wo." 

This  bitterness  of  the  little  book,  after  being  well  di- 
gested, is  here  explained  by  Christ  thus :  "  Thou  must 
prophesy  again  before  many  peoples,  and  nations,  and 
tongues,  and  kings  !"  As  though  he  had  said — Ye  minis- 
ters of  my  gospel,  and  children  of  Zion,  must  again  be 
called  to  bear  testimony  for  me,  before  great  men  of  the 
earth  !  This,  Christ  assures,  must  be  done  "  again  .'"  as 
though  the  peculiar  kind  of  prophesying,  here  in  view, 
had  for  a  time  ceased  ;  but  must  be  resumed.  If  they  had 
fondly  hoped  such  peculiarly  trying  duties  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  were  done  away — and  light  and  liberty  had 


152  LECTURE    XI. 

chased  them  from  the  world — they  must,  for  a  short  time, 
be  resumed,  even  before  the  Millennium.  This  seems  to 
be  the  true  sense  of  the  bitterness  of  the  little  book. 

Do  we  find  any  thing  in  the  parent  text  in  Daniel  (of 
which  our  text  seems  to  be  but  an  illustration),  to  accord 
with  this  ?  We  do  indeed.  The  oath  of  Christ  there 
assures  us,  that  at  the  end  of  the  1260  years,  the  wilful 
power  which  had  been  presented,  should  be  destroyed  :  but 
not  till  "/«e  shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the  power  of 
the  holy  people.''''  Then  "  all  these  things  shall  be  finished." 
It  is  solemn  indeed  to  find  it  here  taught,  that  this  power 
(icnown  as  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit)  is  to  prevail 
to  "  scatter  the  power  of  the  holy  people,"  just  before  his 
destruction.  This  is  the  healed  head  of  the  secular  Ro- 
man beast;  the  same  as  the  new  beast  of  the  last  day, 
ascending,  full  of  the  names  of  blasphemy,  from  the  in- 
fernal region,  and  sinking  soon  in  destruction.  Rev.  xvii. 
We  have  thus  the  explanation  of  the  bitterness  of  the 
little  book  in  our  text — the  same  (we  must  apprehend) 
with  the  slaying  of  the  two  witnesses,  in  Rev.  xi.  The 
event  is  there  noted  as  being  at  the  close  of  the  1260 
years,  and  is  said  to  be  by  the  "  beast  that  ascendeth  out  of 
the  bottomless  pit!"  the  s,ame  power  with  this  wilful  sys- 
tem in  Daniel  described.  These  things  will  receive  fur- 
ther illustrations  in  their  several  places.  Thus  interest- 
ing are  the  trials  which  yet  await  the  church. 

The  present  inhabitants  of  the  civilized  world,  who 
have  liVed  to  see  half  a  century,  have  lived  to  witness 
the  notable  event  which  is  designated  by  the  descent  of 
the  adorable  Angel  of  the  covenant,  in  this  tenth  of  Reve- 
lation; and  it  has  afforded  them  a  season  of  great  instruc- 
tion. The  people  of  God  in  our  United  States  have  been 
most  advantageously  situated  to  see  and  improve  those 
amazing  scenes,  and  to  derive  the  most  solid  lessons  of 
instruction.  We  have  been  happily  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  immediate  scenes  of  desolation,  and  yet  sufficiently 
near  to  behold,  and  to  learn  the  best  lessons  of  wisdom. 
Often,  during  these  terrors,  did  I  fancy  myself  to  be  like 
one  seated  on  a  promontory,  with  a  good  glass,  to  behold 
a  most  tremendous  sea-fight  between  all  the  navies  of  the 
most  powerful  nations,  formed  in  two  lines  of  battle, 
and  for  years  together,  in  a  blaze  of  the  most  furious  con- 


CIFAPTER    XI. 


153 


test ! — feeling  myself  to  be  sufficiently  distant  from  the 
power  of  the  fatal  shot ;  and  yet  sufficiently  near  to  per- 
ceive every  movement,  every  discharge,  and  the  fate  of 
every  sinkuig  ship.  And  while  thus  beholding,  I  formed 
my  present  view  of  the  scenes  of  this  tenth  chapter  of 
the  Revelations  ;  the  belief  of  which,  all  subsequent  views 
have  confirmed. 


LECTURE    XIL 


REVELATION   XI. 

Ver.  1.  And  there  was  given  me  a  reed  like  unto 
a  rod  :  and  the  angel  stood,  saying,  Rise,  and  mea- 
sure the  temple  of  God,  and  the  altar,  and  them  that 
worship  therein. 

2.  But  the  court  which  is  without  the  temple  leave 
out,  and  measure  it  not;  for  it  is  given  unto  the  gen- 
tiles ;  and  the  holy  city  shall  they  tread  under  ifoot 
forty  and  two  months. 

This  chapter  gives  a  general  view  of  the  papal  apos- 
tacy ;  of  the  trials  of  the  people  of  God  as  his  two  wit- 
nesses ;  of  the  third  trumpet ;  and  of  the  introduction  of 
the  Millennium. 

The  reed,  in  the  text,  was  a  ten  foot  measure,  made  of 
reed,  a  light  kind  of  wood  ;  and  was  such  as  was  often 
used  to  measure  land,  buildings,  or  other  surfaces.  The 
temple  to  be  here  measured  was  a  well-known  visible 
emblem  of  the  church  on  earth.  Says  an  apostle, 
"Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost?" 
"  Ye  are  the  temple  of  the  living  God;  as  God  hath  said, 
I  will  dwell  in  them."  The  temple  of  God  at  Jerusalem, 
consisted  of  a  capacious  covered  building,  and  two  courts  ; 


i54  LECTURE    XII. 

an  inner  and  outer  court.  The  inner  court  joined  the 
door  of  the  large  covered  building ;  and  was  for  the 
priests.  The  altar  for  burnt  offerings  was  here  placed. 
And  the  outer  court  was  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
common  people  of  Israel  in  public  worship.  They  were 
not  permitted  to  enter  the  inner  court,  the  court  of  the 
priests,  unless  individually,  and  when  offering  their  sacri- 
fices. 

To  the  second  temple,  a  third  court  was  added,  called 
the  court  of  the  geniiles,  and  designed  for  gentile  wor- 
shippers. This  gentile  court  was  accounted  holy  in  no 
other  sense,  than  as  a  part  of  the  holy  city  Jerusalem. 
In  the  large  covered  building  of  the  temple,  was  con- 
tained the  Holy  of  Hohes;  and  various  sacred  emblems. 
This  whole  pile  of  buildings  was  called  the  temple  :  and 
it  was  an  emblem  of  both  the  human  body  of  Christ ; 
and  of  his  visible  church  on  earth.  The  latter  are  hence 
known  as  the  temple  of  God ;  as  well  as  his  chosen 
generation,  his  royal  priesthood,  his  holy  nation,  his 
peculiar  people,  to  offer  up  special  sacrifices  acceptable 
to  God  by  Jesus  Christ. 

In  our  text,  the  temple,  comprising  the  great  covered 
building,  and  the  two  courts  first  built,  was  to  be 
measured.  But  the  outer  court,  the  court  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, was  to  be  left  out  of  the  measurement.  This  court 
was  now  presented  as  an  emblem  of  the  apostate  and 
corrupt  church  of  the  Romanists,  which  could  no  longer 
endure  the  measurement  of  gospel  rule.  This  had 
become  unmeasurably  corrupt.  In  the  first  formation  of 
the  ancient  tHbernacle,  Moses  was  admonished  to  make 
all  thiiigs  after  the  pattern  showed  him  in  the  mount. 
By  this  rule  must  the  cimrch  and  her  concerns  be  formed; 
and  then  she  can  endure  the  measurement  of  the  oracles 
of  truth.  But  that  great  court  of  the  gentile  church, 
which  for  1260  years  should  torture  the  true  witnesses  of 
Christ,  should  have  uo  measurement  of  evangelical  truth 
attempted  upon  it.  It  should  be  viewed  and  treated  as 
fatally  and  utterly  corrupt !  That  part  of  the  professed 
city  of  God  should  be  trodden  under  the  feet  of  Gentilism, 
forty  and  two  months.  We  here  learn  that  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  noted  1260  years  (the  same  as  the 
forty  and  two  months),  the  papal  church  became  utterly 


CHAPTER    XI.  155 

abominable,  and  was  of  God  utterly  rejected.*  "  The 
holy  city  shall  they  tread  under  foot  forty  and  two 
months  !"  a  phrase  borrowed  perhaps  from  the  words  of 
our  Saviour,  "  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the 
gentiles,  until  the  time  of  the  gentiles  be  fulfdled."  If 
the  enemies  of  the  church  of  Christ  were  to  hold  Pales- 
tine as  a  realm  no  better  than  grossly  pagan,  till  about 
the  close  of  the  noted  1260  years;  the  immeasurable 
iniquity  of  the  papal  power  would  hold  that  vast  territory 
of  Christendom,  which  was  within  its  power,  in  a  state 
no  less  degraded  and  hateful. 

Ver.  3.  And  I  will  give  poioer  nnto  my  two  wit- 
nesses, and  they  shall  prophesy  a  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  threescore  days,  clothed  in  sackcloth. 

4.  These  are  the  two  olive-trees,  and  the 
two  candlesticks  standing  before  the  God  of  the 
earth. 

Much  has  been  said  by  writers  on  the  question,  who 
are  the  two  witnesses  ?  The  different  views  which  have 
been  given,  will  not  be  here  noted,  on  this,  nor  on  many 
other  questions  in  this  book.     Such  a  process  would  so 


*  As  the  1260  years  stand  as  a  notable  period  in  the  prophecies  ; 
a  few  remarks  for  illustration  shall  here  be  given.  This  period 
we  find  in  Dan.  vii.  25  ;  "  a  time,  times,  and  dividing  of  times." 
Dan.  xii.  7  ;  "time,  times,  and  an  half."  Our  text,  "  forty  and 
two  months."  Verse  3  ;  "a.  thousand  two  hundred  and  three- 
score days."  Chap.  xii.  6,  and  verse  14  ;  "a  time,  times,  and  a 
half  time."  These  all  mean  the  same  period — 1260  years.  By  a 
time,  is  meant,  a  year  :  times,  two  years  :  and  half  a  time,  half  a 
year.  These  make  the  forty  and  two  months.  And  all  the  different 
expressions  of  the  period,  reckoning  (as  did  the  ancients)  360  days 
to  a  year,  give  1260  years.  God  said  to  Moses,  Num.  xiv.  34; 
*'  After  the  number  of  the  days  in  which  ye  searched  the  land,  even 
forty  days,  each  day  for  a  year,  ye  shall  bear  your  iniquity,  even 
forty  years.  In  Ezek.  iv.  6,  the  prophet  was  ordered  to  lie  on  his 
side  forty  days,  as  a  sign  to  the  people.  God  said,  "  I  have  appointed 
thee  each  day  for  a  year."  This,  therefore,  became  one  mode  of 
reckoning  prophetic  time  ; — a  day  for  a  year.  And  Daniel,  chap, 
ix.  24 ;  in  predicting  the  time  of  the  coming  of  Christ,  hence 
graduated  the  period,  giving  seventy  weeks  for  four  hundred  and 
ninety  years.  All  prophetic  time  is  not  necessarily  thus  reckoned. 
But  some  is  manifestly  thus  reckoned. 


156  LECTURE    XII. 

incumber  those  lectures,  that  it  will  not  be  attempted  :  it 
would  serve  only  to  perplex.  On  this  question,  and  on 
other  points  generally,  I  shall  take  the  liberty  to  give  that 
sense,  whether  ever  before  given  or  not,  which,  after  my 
best  consideration  of  the  subject,  shall  appear  best  to 
accord  with  Inspiration,  the  analogy  of  things,  and  historic 
facts. 

The  two  witnesses  will  be  here  considered  as  an 
appellation  given  to  all  the  true  people  of  God,  during  the 
period  noted.  They  are  those  who  can  truly  endure  the 
measurement  of  the  word  of  God,  as  the  antecedent  texts 
decide  ;  those  who  belong  to  the  mystical  temple  and 
body  of  Christ.  The  description  of  them  may  have  a 
special  allusion  to  the  true  ambassadors  of  Christ ;  yet 
not  to  exclude  his  common  members.  The  phrase,  "my 
two  witnesses,  seems  to  imply  that  some  beings  are  pecu- 
liarly known  by  this  appellation.  Who  then  are,  in  fact, 
best  known  by  it  1  The  ambassadors  of  Christ  are 
thus.  "  Ye  are  my  v-itnesscs^'''  said  Christ  to  them. 
"  Ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things."  "  A.nd  ye  shall  be 
witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea, 
and  unto  the  utmost  parts  of  the  earth."  Those  words  our 
Lord  addressed  to  his  ministers,  just  before  he  ascended  ; 
having  given  them  their  commission,  and  promised  to  be 
with  them  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 
Here  then,  are  men  known,  in  the  word  of  God,  as 
Christ's  witnesses ;  as  also  in  the  following  passages : 
"  This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof  we  (the 
apostles)  are  all  witnesses.''''  Again  :  "Whom  God  raised 
from  the  dead,  whereof  we  are  witnesses.''^  "  And  with 
great  power  gave  the  apostles  wit7iess  o{  \he  resurrection." 
"  And  we  are  his  witnesses  of  these  things,  and  so  is  also 
the  Holy  Ghost."  "And  we  are  witnesses  of  all  these 
things,  which  God  did."  Ananias  said  to  Paul,  "For 
thou  shall  be  his  witness  unto  all  men."  Peter  says, 
"  The  elders  among  you  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an  elder 
and  a  witness^  Who,  or  what,  besides  the  ambassadors 
of  Christ,  can  claim  such  a  number  of  inspired  testimonies 
direct  to  the  purpose?  In  ten  passages  they  are  thus 
denominated,  'i'he  witnesses  prophesy,  or  preach,  "  in 
the  days  of  their  prophecy  1"  To  whom  besides  does 
this  so  fitly  apply,  as  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  ? 
The  witnesses  are  noted  as  "  the  two  prophets ;  that  tor- 


CHAPTER   XI.  157 

ment  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth."  What  other  prophets 
torment  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ?  These 
are  the  two  olive-trees,"  Zech.  iv.  3,  11,  14;  standing 
one  on  each  side  of  the  candlestick  ;  and  are  explained 
as  being  Joshua,  and  Zerubbabel;  who  unitedly  prefigured 
Christ  as  our  Priest  and  King.  Of  them  the  angel  said 
to  Zechariah,  "these  are  the  two  anointed  ones  (Hebrew, 
sons  of  oil),  that  stand  before  the  Lord  of  the  whole 
earth."  But  who,  on  earth,  are  more  fitly  called  anointed 
ones,  sons  of  oil,  standing  before  the  Lord  of  the  whole 
earth,  than  the  ambassadors  of  Christ  ?  These  are  the 
same  with  the  four  living  creatures,  in  this  mystical  book, 
who  stand  between  God  and  the  mystical  elders, — com- 
mon members  of  the  church. 

But,  although  the  descriptions  of  the  witnesses  have 
thus  a  striking  allusion  to  the  ministersof  Zion;  th-^y  do 
not  refer  exclusively  to  them.  For  the  witnesses  are  also 
the  two  candlesticks,  in  the  text.  But  a  candlestick  i»  a 
noted  emblem  of  the  whole  church  of  Christ,- — ministers, 
and  common  brethren.  See  Rev.  i.  20;  and  ii.  1,  where 
Christ  assures  us  that  the  seven  stars  are  the  angels  (pas- 
tors) of  the  seven  churches  ;  and  the  seven  candlesticks 
are  the  seven  churches :  and  where  our  Lord  thus  dis- 
tinguishes between  these  two  classes  of  men ;  and  yet 
treats  them  as  in  a  close  connexion.  "  These  things  saith 
He  that  holdeth  the  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand ;  who 
walketh  in  the  midst  of  his  seven  golden  candlesticks." 
True  ministers  and  Christians  all  unite  in  bearing  their 
testimony  for  Christ.  It  is  testified  of  the  church, 
including  her  ministers,  as  follows ;  "  The  Spirit,  and 
the  bride  say,  come."  Thus  the  preachers  of  righteous- 
ness, and  all  their  lay-brethren,  form  this  whole, — the  two 
witnesses. 

But  why  is  their  number  noted  as  tioo  ?  Whether  the 
duality  of  the  two  branches  just  noted,  forms  any  part  of 
tlie  reason,  I  will  leave.  Pastors  and  churches  form 
but  one,  and  the  two  witnesses,  in  fact,  form  but  one  gene- 
ral testimony  for  God.  Various  Biblical  considerations, 
as  well  as  historic  facts,  favour  the  idea  of  a  duality  of 
the  witnesses  of  Christ.  There  must  be  two  witnesses  to 
constitute  a  legal  testimony.  See  Deut.  xix.  15;  and 
Matt,  xviii.  16;  1  Tim.  v.  19;  where  two  are  noted  as 
necessary  to  warrant  conviction.     And  in  the  most  trying 

O 


158  LECTURE    Xll. 

times  of  the  dark  ages,  God  never  left  his  cause  without 
ample  witnesses ;  though  their  number  was  often  small. 
In  the  sacred  oracles,  we  find  Moses  and  Aaron  must  be 
associated,  to  operate  as  the  witnesses  of  God ;  Elijah 
and  Elisha ;  Joshua  and  Zerubbabel ;  the  disciples  must 
be  sent  out  two  and  two !  And  something  like  a  duality 
seems  to  have  been  furnished,  to  bless  the  church  of  the 
faithful,  in  the  dark  ages,  and  after ;  as  John  Huss  and 
Jerome  of  Prague  ;  Luther  and  Calvin ;  Cranmer  and 
Ridley;  the  Waldenses  and  Albigenses.  These  dualities 
seem  to  favour  this  idea  of  a  duality  in  the  witnesses.  In 
the  present  time,  the  church  in  America,  and  the  church  in 
Great  Britain,  form  the  essential  two,  in  commencing  and 
supporting  the  flight  of  the  missionary  angel.  And  the 
church  of  the  Jews,  and  of  the  gentiles  will  be  the  final 
means  of  the  conversion  of  the  world,  after  the  battle  of 
the  great  day  shall  sweep  Antichrist  into  perdition,  and 
shall  leave  a  remnant  over  the  earth  to  be  brought  into  the 
fold  of  Christ.  If  these  reasons  be  not  fully  satisfactory ; 
the  sovereignty  of  God  is  sufficient ;  "  Even  so,  Father : 
for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight." 

Ver.  5.  And  if  any  man  will  hurt  them,  fire  pro- 
ceedeth  out  of  their  mouth,  and  devoureth  their  ene- 
mies ;  and  if  any  man  will  hurt  them,  he  must  in  this 
manner  be  killed. 

6.  These  have  power  to  shut  heaven,  that  it  rain 
not  in  the  days  of  their  prophecy :  and  have  power 
over  waters  to  turn  them  to  blood,  and  to  smite  the 
earth  with  all  plagues,  as  often  as  they  will. 

We  have  here  a  striking  allusion  to  the  powerful 
efficacy  of  holy  Christian  prayer.  It  fails  not  to  engage 
the  omnipotence  of  God  in  behalf  of  the  persecuted  church. 
"  And  shall  not  God  avenge  his  own  elect  who  cry  unto 
him  day  and  night,  though  he  bear  long  with  them  ?  I  tell 
you,  he  will  avenge  them  speedily."  The  witnesses 
destroying  their  enemies  with  fire  from  heaven,  seems  an 
allusion  to  Elijah's  calling  down  fire  from  Heaven  to  con- 
sume the  captains  and  their  fifties,  who  were  sent  by  the 
wicked  Ahab  to  take  him :  as  also  their  having  power  to 
shut  heaven,  that  it  rain  not  in  the  days  of  their  prophecy, 


CHAPTER    XI.  159 

must  allude  to  the  drought,  occasioned  on  the  idolatrous 
Israel  by  the  prayers  of  Elijah.     And  their  turning  water 
to  blood ;  and  their  smiting  the  earth  with  all  plagues,  as 
oft  as  they  will,  must  allude  to  the  plagues  on  Egypt, 
inflicted  by  the  instrumentality  of  Moses  in  behalf  of  the 
liberation  of  the  chosen  tribes.     The  holy  oracles  honour 
the  saints,  in  their  afflictions  from  the  wicked  world,  with 
the  possession  of  a  power  like  this,  for  their  defence.    But 
the  true  sense  is, — God  does  these,  or  similar  works  of 
judgment,  in  answer  to  their  prayers  for  Zion's  salvation ; 
and  in  vindication  of  the  Christian  cause.    We  accordingly 
find  such  language  as  the  following,  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, relative  to  the  honour  and  power  of  the  people  of 
God :  "  Let  the  high  praises  of  God  be  in  their  mouth, 
and  a  two-edged  sword  in  their  hands,  to  execute  ven- 
geance upon  the  heathen,  and  punishment  upon  the  peo- 
ple ;  to  bind  their  kings  with  chains,  and  their  nobles  with 
fetters  of  iron  ;  to  execute  upon  them  the  judgments  writ- 
ten ;  this  honour  have  all  the  saints."     In  one  of  the  pro- 
phets, the  church,  in  these  last  days,  is  directed  to  make 
a  new  threshing  instrument,  having  teeth,  to  thresh  the 
nations,  and  beat  them  small  as  powder,  that  the  wind 
may  carry  them  all  away  !     A  great  meaning  is  contained 
in  such  figures,  which  the  wicked  world  will  too  late  dis- 
cover, to  their  cost,  for  all  their  pride  and  malice  against 
the  cause  of  Christ  on  earth.     The  wicked  queen  Mary 
had  learned  a  little  of  this  sentiment,  when  she  felt  that 
she  would  rather  have  ten  thousand  men  in  arms  against 
her  than  the  prayers  of  John  Knox  !     Such  figures  must 
be  viewed  as  alluding,  not  to  any  malevolent  vindictive 
spirit  in  Christians ;   but  to  the  influence  of  their  holy 
intercessions  with  God  in  behalf  of  his  cause,  and  the 
fulfilment  of  his  word  for  Zion's  salvation.     They  both 
allude  to,  and  confirm  the/«c^,  that  "the  effectual  fervent 
prayer  of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much."     They  hint  to 
us  what  all  the  effectual  fervent  prayers  of.  the  followers 
of  Christ  will  avail,  when  put  in  operation  in  behalf  of 
Zion's  afflicted  cause,  and  pleading  for  the  fulfflment  of 
God's  word  in  the  protection  of  his  churches  on  earth. 
They  know,  feel,  and  rejoice,  that  vengeance  belongeth 
unto  God,  and  not  to  them ;  and  they  plead  with  God  to 
build  up  his  own  cause  in  his  own  way.     God  then,  in  his 
own  time  and  way,  performs  his  work^  '''Ids  strange  worJC^ 


160  LECTURE    XII. 

of  judgment,  in  behalf  of  his  own  kingdom  of  salvation,  in 
which  his  children  adoringly  acquiesce ;  and  he  conde- 
scends to  ascribe  the  event  to  them,  inasmuch  as  he  does 
it  in  their  behalf,  and  in  answer  to  their  prayers  for  his 
own  glory.  And  tluis  he  says,  "  All  things  are  yours." 
"  All  things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  And  he  adds,  as  Rev.  ii.  27 ;  "  He  that  overcom- 
eth  and  keepeth  my  words  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give 
power  over  the  nations  ;  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod 
of  iron ;  as  the  vessel  of  a  potter  shall  they  be  broken  to 
shivers  ;  even  as  I  received  of  my  Father."  (See  Psalm 
ii.  8,  9.)  This  commission  was  given  to  Christ;  and  he 
thus  gives  it  to  his  faithful  children ; — not  to  be  the  efficient 
cause  of  judgments,  as  he  is ;  but  to  have  the  honour  of 
being  one  object  of  his  judgments  ;  as  interceding  for  his 
cause  ;  and  as  having  fellowship  with  him  in  his  methods 
of  judgment,  and  of  grace. 

We  learn  how  we  are  to  esteem  the  religion  of  the 
papal  system ;  unmeasurahle  iniquity  and  abomination ! 
The  same  we  learn  in  2  Thess.  ii. — "  Whose  coming  is 
after  the  working  of  Satan,  with  all  powder,  and  signs,  and 
lying  wonders ;  and  with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteous- 
ness.— And  for  this  cause  shall  God  send  them  strong 
delusion,  that  they  should  believe  a  lie,  that  they  all  might 
be  damned  who  believed  not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in 
unrighteousness  ;"  "  who  opposeth  himself  above  all  that 
is  called  God,  or  worshipped  ;  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in 
the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God,"  in  his 
blasphemous  self  exaltations.  See  the  abominations  of 
this  character  of  popery  in  the  second  beast,  in  Rev.  xiii. 
11,  to  end;  and  as  personified  by  the  woman.  Rev.  xvii. 
1-5.  We  have  here  "Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great,  the 
mother  of  harlots,  and  abominations  of  the  earth," — 
"  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints," — defiling  kings  of 
the  earth ;  and  rendering  the  millions  of  her  deluded 
votaries  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  filthiness  ! — dashing 
out  in  her  purple,  and  scarlet,  gold,  precious  stones,  and 
pearls ;  holding  her  golden  cup  filled  with  unmeasurahle 
abomination,  and  filthiness.  This  scheme  is  the  most 
fatal  delusion  ; — "  the  way  to  hell,  going  down  to  the  cham- 
bers of  death."  No  fellowship  is  to  be  held  with  her. 
"  Come  out  of  her,  my  people :  be  not  partakers  of  her 
bins  ;  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues."     Wretched  is 


CHAPTER  XI»  161 

the  nation,  or  part  of  a  nation,  where  this  polluting  system 
shall  prevail,  or  be  thought  well  of !  Where  it  touches,  it 
will  defile  and  ruin.  It  will  gender  infidelity  ;  and  lead  on 
to  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  "  I  beheld  then,  because  of 
the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  (popery) 
spake,  I  beheld  till  the  beast  (the  atheistical  system  pro- 
duced from  it)  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given 
to  the  burning  flame;"  "cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and 
brimstone,  where  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet  are,  and 
shall  be  tormented  for  ever." 

May  we  have  our  lot  with  the  two  witnesses.  In  order 
for  this,  we  must  possess  their  character,  make  and  main- 
tain their  faithful  prayers,  and  thus  wait  on  the  Lord. 
Things  with  the  two  witnesses,  and  their  enemies,  will  be 
found  ripening  to  a  crisis.  The  only  safety  of  true 
Christians  will  be  in  living  near  to  God.  Then  will  their 
prayers  bring  down  for  them  all  needed  aid  from  Heaven ; 
and  their  cause  will,  in  due  time,  ascend  thither,  and  their 
enemies  will  with  despairing  eyes  behold  them.  Do  we 
then,  belong  to  the  true  witnesses  ?  To  what  do  we  bear 
witness  ?  Do  we  truly  support  the  doctrines  of  grace  ? — 
the  duties  which  God  demands  of  men? — the  gospel  mo- 
tives of  salvation  ?  Is  this  our  faithful  witness ;  while 
many  turn  their  ears  from  the  truth,  and  are  turned  to 
fables  1  Is  our  witness  borne  for  Christ  truly  practical,  as 
well  as  evangelical  ?  Is  it  in  the  exercise  of  the  new 
heart  which  God  gives  ? — "  Created  in  Christ  unto  good 
works ;  truly  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God  ? — having  the 
love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
given  unto  us  I — beholding  the  glory  of  God  as  he  is  in 
himself,  and  being  changed  into  the  same  image  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  ?  Do  we  carefully  avoid  the  spirit  and 
conduct  of  such  as  turn  into  crooked  ways ;  who  cry  lo, 
here ;  or  lo,  there ;  and  cannot  endure  sound  doctrine  ? 
Do  we  stand  and  inquire  for  the  old  path,  the  good  way  of 
salvation,  where  the  new-born  have  gone,  denying  them- 
selves, taking  up  the  cross,  and  following  Christ  ?  Do  we 
thus  in  spirit  and  practice  hold  forth  the  word  of  life,  as 
chfldren  of  the  light,  and  of  the  day  1  Are  the  enemies 
themselves  constrained  to  take  knowledge  of  us  that  we 
have  thus  been  with  Jesus  Christ,  and  have  truly  learned 
of  him?  Decide  these  questions  in  the  affirmative ;  and 
02 


162  LECTURE  xni. 

the  immunities  and  salvation  of  the  two  witnesses  will  be 
ours.  Their  people  will  be  our  people ;  and  their  God 
our  God ! 


LECTURE    XIII. 


REVELATION    XI. 

{The  Slaying  of  the  Witnesses.) 

Ver.  7.  And  when  they  shall  have  finished  their 
testimony,  the  beast  that  ascendeth  out  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  shall  make  war  against  them,  and  shall  over- 
come them,  and  kill  them. 

8.  And  their  dead  bodies  shall  lie  in  the  street  of 
the  great  city,  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom  and 
Egypt,  where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified. 

9.  And  they  of  the  people,  and  kindreds,  and 
tongues,  and  nations,  shall  see  their  dead  bodies  three 
days  and  an  half,  and  shall  not  suffer  their  dead 
bodies  to  be  put  in  graves. 

10.  And  they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  rejoice 
over  them,  and  make  merry,  and  shall  send  gifts  one 
to  another ;  because  these  two  prophets  tormented 
them  that  dwelt  on  the  earth. 

We  have  here  an  event  of  deep  interest ;  to  find  the 
sense  and  the  period  of  which,  now  claims  our  attention. 
I  have  been  of  the  number  of  those  who  fondly  hope  that 
this  solemn  event  is  past :  but  on  further  inquiry,  I  have 
been  led  to  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  this,  and  finally  to 
apprehend  that  it  is  yet  future.  Various  events  have  been- 
presented  to  the  public  as  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses ; 
most  of  which  may  be  seen  in  Bishop  Newton  on  the  pro- 
phecies ;  (vol.  ii.  page  226-9,)  which  will  not  here  be 
adduced.     That  noted  writer  gave  his  own  full  behef  that 


TH AFTER    XI.  163 

the  event  was  then  still  future.  One  writer  has  given  his 
opinion  that  the  event  took  place  in  the  revolution  in 
France  of  1789,  when  atheism  did  to  some  extent  triumph 
on  the  papal  earth,  and  furious  attempts  were  made  to  banish 
Christianity  from  the  world.  Probably  more  may  be  said 
in  favour  of  that  event's  being  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses, 
than  in  favour  of  any  other  past  event.  But,  could  the  few 
Protestants  who  were  then  slain  or  silenced  in  France,  be 
entitled  to  the  appellation  of  the  witnesses  of  Christ  on 
earth  ?  It  must  be  difficult  to  admit  this.  Where  did  the 
rejoicing  of  all  nations  and  tongues,  which  we  are  assured 
takes  place  on  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses,  occur  upon 
the  events  of  that  revolution  1  The  state  of  the  nations  on 
the  Roman  earth,  at  that  time,  formed  an  exact  contrast 
with  this.  All,  except  the  infidels  of  illuminism,  were  ter- 
rified at  the  events  of  that  revolution,  and  trembled  for  their 
own  existence  :  so  far  were  they  from  "rejoicing,  and  send- 
ing gifts  one  to  another !" 

Nothing  took  place  at  that  time,  after  three  j^ears  and  a 
half,  which  could  amount  to  the  resurrection  of  the  wit- 
nesses, and  their  ascension  to  heaven  in  the  sight  of  their 
enemies.  1  shall  now  state  some  difficulties  which  appear 
in  the  way  of  viewing  this  event  as  past. 

1.  The  time  given  for  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses, 
seems  to  show  it  to  be  now  future.  They  were  to 
prophesy,  clothed  in  sackcloth,  1260  years;  and  it  is 
"when  they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony,"  that 
they  are  slain.  But  the  close  of  the  1260  years  brings 
us  to  the  destruction  of  the  beast  from  the  bottomless 
pit;  as  has  been  shown  from  Dan.  xii.  6,  7,  where 
the  oath  of  the  Angel  (Christ)  that  the  close  of  the 
time,  times,  and  a  half  (1260  years),  brings  the  end  of  the 
wonders,  or  the  destruction  of  the  wilful  power  there 
described ;  which  has  been  shown  to  be  the  same  with 
the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit  which  slays  the  wit- 
nesses, and  its  destruction  the  same  with  the  seventh  vial, 
or  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God.  This  event  then, 
is  at  the  close  of  the  1260  years  ;  and  the  slaying  of  the 
witnesses  is  at  the  close  of  the  1260  years  ;  and  the  same 
period  being  ascribed  to  each  of  these  events,  shows  them 
to  be  at  least  very  nearly  at  the  same  period.  And  hence, 
as  the  end  of  these  wonders,  or  the  battle  of  the  great  day 
of  God,  is  now  future  (being  subsequent  to  the  restoration 


164  LECTURE    XIU. 

of  the  Jews) ;  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses  must  be 
future. 

In  verses  11-14  of  this  chapter,  we  find  that  the  resur- 
rection of  the  witnesses  is  near  the  close  of  the  period 
assigned  to  the  second  wo,  as  it  there  soon  follows,  "  The 
second  wo  is  past,  and  behold  the  third  wo  cometh 
quickly !"  and  the  next  verse  presents  it.  This  forbids 
that  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses  can  be  a  past  event. 

2.  What  is  said  of  the  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs, 
Rev.  xvi.  13-16,  does  the  same.  For  surely  the  great 
effect  of  this  threefold  agency  from  the  dragon,  the  beast, 
and  the  false  prophet,  must  now  be  future.  It  is  an  event 
to  be  accomplished  between  the  sixth  and  seventh  vials ; 
thus  it  is  to  take  place  after  the  destruction  of  the  Turk- 
ish government,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  final  ruin 
of  Antichrist.  But  the  object  of  this  general  diabolical 
agency, — going  forth  unto  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  to 
gather  them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God, — 
is  to  excite  the  last  and  most  violent  attack  of  the  king- 
dom of  Satan  on  earth  upon  the  cause  of  Christ.  And 
can  this  be  an  event  to  be  accomplished  after  the  slaying 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  witnesses?  Must  not  the 
slaying  of  the  witnesses  result  rather  from  this  gathering 
of  all  the  world  against  Christ,  and  be  the  event  which 
brings  him  down  to  destroy  his  enemies  ? 

This  event  of  Christ's  destroying  his  warring  enemies^ 
is  given  in  chap.  xix.  19 — "And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  their  armies  gathered  together  to 
make  war  against  him  who  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against 
his  army."  I  here  again  ask ;  can  the  attack  of  this  same 
beast  upon  the  witnesses,  his  having  slain  them,  and  their 
having  arisen,  and  ascended  up  to  heaven,  and  their  ene- 
mies having  beholden  them,  be  an  event  long  past,  when 
this  new  violent  attack  is  made  upon  the  church  of  Christ? 
Is  not  this  last  gathering  of  all  the  powers  of  Satan  on 
earth  against  the  church  at  the  very  time  of  their  slaying 
of  the  witnesses  ?  This  much  better  accords  with  all 
that  is  testified  relative  to  the  event.  Jesus  Christ  (it  will 
then  be  found),  has  risen  in  the  majesty  of  his  glory,  to 
cut  off  the  enemy,  when  the  slaughtered  witnesses  rise 
from  the  dead,  and  ascend  up  to  heaven,  and  their  enemies 
behold  them  !  The  latter  stroke  indicates  their  terror  and 
dismay  at  the  sight  of  the  witnesses  now  triumphant ; 


CHAPTER  XI. 


165 


rather  than  their  courage  to  make  a  new  attack.  No — as 
the  mystical  resurrection  and  ascension  to  heaven  of  the 
witnesses,  evince  that  Christ  has  come  to  vindicate  their 
cause,  and  to  take  their  enemies  in  hand  (as  the  decisive 
battle  immediately  follows)  ;  so  the  slaying  of  them  is 
but  three  years  and  a  half  before  the  commencement  of 
this  new  interposition  of  Christ  in  their  behalf,  and  can- 
not now  be  a  past  event. 

3.  Other  prophecies  corroborate  this  sentiment.  Rev. 
chapter  xiv.  commences  with  a  view  of  the  reformation, 
as  will  be  shown  on  the  chapter ; — the  appearing  of  the 
heavenly  Lamb  on  the  Mount  Zion  !  In  verse  6lh,  the 
angel  of  missions  commences  his  flight  round  the  world ; 
an  event  now  accomplishing.  A  second  angel  of  general 
influence  follows — testifying  that  "  Babylon  is  fallen  /" 
The  flight  of  this  second  angel  is  now  manifestly  future. 
A  third  angel  follows,  calling  on  all,  upon  the  penally  of 
eternal  death,  to  flee  from  all  affinity  with  the  beast,  as  will 
be  shown  upon  the  passage.  This,  as  might  be  expected, 
excites  ire  and  persecution  from  the  enemy  thus  impli- 
cated :  and  it  hence  follows,  "  Here  is  the  patience  of  the 
saints  :  here  are  they  that  keep  the  commands  of  God, 
and  the  faith  of  Jesus  !"  These  hints,  and  what  follows, 
imply  much  relative  to  new  trials  of  Christian  faith  and 
patience.  "And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto 
me.  Write,  blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord  from 
henceforth  (from  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  these 
new  trials).  Yea,  saiih  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from 
their  labours,  and  their  works  do  follow  them."  These 
warnings,  and  what  still  follows,  imply  much  relative  to  new 
and  signal  trials  to  the  church.  It  has  ever  been  a  fact,  that 
"  blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord."  But  this  text  is 
here  a  chronological  passage,  and  has  a  peculiar  meaning 
at  a  peculiar  time.  It  implies  new  and  sigral  trials  to  the 
living.  Hence  Christ  is  noted  as  immediately  appearing 
on  his  white  cloud  of  the  judgment  and  victory  of  the 
battle  of  the  great  day  !  He  appears  there  with  the  sharp 
weapon  of  his  indignation,  now  to  reap  the  wicked  har- 
vest, and  to  gather  the  infidel  clusters  of  the  vine  of 
Antichrist.  "  Thrust  in  thy  sickle  and  reap !  for  the 
time  is  come  for  thee  to  reap  ;  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth 
is  ripe" — "  Gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth, 
for  het  grapes  are  fully  ripe  !"  and  the  decisive  work  is 


166  LECTURE    XIII. 

done  !  This  series  of  events  strongly  indicates  that  the 
slaying  of  the  witnesses  follows  the  flight  of  this  third 
angel ;  trying  the  patience  of  the  saints  ;  causing  that 
"  blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  from  hence- 
forth ;"  and  bringing  down  the  Captain  of  our  salvation  for 
the  harvest  and  the  vintage  !  Now,  shall  we  say  or  admit, 
that  the  slaying,  and  the  triumphant  resurrection,  and 
ascension  to  heaven  of  the  witnesses,  are  events  anterior 
to  the  flight  of  the  first  missionary  angel  here,  whose 
mission  is  now  blessing  the  world  ? 

In  Rev.  X.  the  same  thing  appears.  It  has  been  shown 
that  the  descent  of  Christ  there,  and  the  seven  thunders, 
were  accomplished  in  the  infidel  French  revolution — that 
this  was  naturally  mistaken  by  some  for  the  battle  of  the 
great  day :  but  the  oath  of  Christ  corrects  this  mistake, 
and  assures  that  the  battle  was  not  yet ;  but  in  the  days 
of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound  (an  event 
still  future),  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished ;"  or, 
the  battle  shall  then  commence,  and  be  soon  accomplished. 
And  here,  subsequent  to  the  seven  thunders,  is  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  little  book  ;  or  the  fact,  that  "  thou  must  again 
prophesy  before  peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues,  and 
kings  !"  a  kind  of  prophesying  which  had  been  laid  aside, 
but  which  must  again  be  resumed  before  the  seventh 
trumpet,  and  to  introduce  that  event.  Let  it  be  here  asked, 
can  this  experience  of  the  bitterness  of  the  little  book ; 
this  new  prophecying  before  peoples,  and  nations,  and 
tongues,  and  kings, — be  viewed  as  accomplished  before  the 
descent  of  Christ,  and  the  seven  thunders  here  given? 
Surely  not.  They  are  future  of  these  scjenes.  And  must 
they  not  then  be  future  of  the  present  period  1 

4.  Sentiments  of  noted  writers  on  this  subject  are  en- 
titled to  some  consideration ;  more  at  least  than  the  mere 
conjectures  of  men  who  have  never  bestowed  any  serious 
and  patient  attention  to  the  prophecies.  Bishop  Newton, 
after  giving  all  the  schemes  of  past  authors  upon  this 
point,  gives  his  own  opinion  that  the  event  was  still  future. 
Mr.  Scott  gives  as  his  full  belief  that  it  was  future  of  his 
day.     I  will  give  his  words. 

He  says,  "  Many  private  interpretations  (for  so  they 
appear  to  me)  have  been  given  of  this  passage  (the  slay- 
ing of  the  witnesses),  as  if  it  related  to  the  martyrdom  of 
individuals,  or  partial  persecutions,  in  some  times  past, 


CHAPTER    XI.  167 

I  cannot  but  think  that  it  relates  to  evenis  yet  future ; 
and  that  it  will  be  fulfilled  about  the  sounding  of  the 
seventh  trumpet." 

In  a  subsequent  edition  of  his  Bible,  he  says  (speaking 
of  his  former  comments  on  this  passage),  "  Since  that 
time,  I  have  had  abundant  opportunity  of  reconsidering 
my  interpretation  (of  this  passage),  and  of  comparing  it 
with  those  of  many  others,  and  with  events  which  have  oc- 
curred. I  must,  however,  avow  my  full  conviction^  that 
the  transactions  have  not  hitherto  taken  place !"  Mr. 
Scott  shows,  that  the  triumphs  of  persecutors  in  Germany, 
Bohemia,  Spain,  and  Italy,  do  not  amount  to  any  thing 
that  can  be  called  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses.  The  time  of 
the  event,  "  when  they  shall  have  finished  their  testimony," 
he  proceeds  to  show,  is  manifestly  future.  I  will  call  no 
man  father,  upon  earth.  But  the  reasoning  and  views  of 
such  men  as  Newton  and  Scott,  will  have  with  me,  much 
more  weight,  than  the  confident  assertions  of  men  who 
speak  only  according  to  their  wishes,  and  intuitive  views, 
but  have  never  duly  investigated  the  subject. 

5.  The  beast  that  slays  the  witnesses,  is  another  besides 
the  papal  beast ;  and  therefore  no  past  papal  persecutions 
can  amount  to  it.  It  is  (our  text  assures)  "  the  beast  that 
ascendeth  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,"  that  "  makes  war 
upon  them,  and  overcomes  them,  and  kills  them."  This 
is  the  infidel  power  of  the  last  days.  See  Rev.  xiii.  3-7  ; 
and  xvii.  3,  8,  14.  This  is  noted  as  the  old  pagan  Roman 
beast,  recovered  to  life,  in  the  last  days.  It  is  a  power  of 
infidelity,  licentiousness,  and  military  despotism.  It  has 
already  appeared  and  exhibited  its  infidel  nature  and  de- 
sign. It  is  a  beast  "  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is." 
It  has,  at  times,  only  a  mystical  and  invisible  existence ; 
but  a  real  one,  till  it  goes  into  perdition  at  the  battle  of 
the  great  day  of  God.  This  is  the  mischievous  agent  in 
our  text.  The  last  part  of  his  existence  is  noted  as  ter- 
rible, till  he  goes  into  perdition ;  "  till  his  body  is  de- 
stroyed, and  given  to  the  burning  fiame."  This  is  the 
beast  that,  with  the  dragon,  and  the  papal  false  prophet, 
leads  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their  armies,  to  the  last 
battle  with  Christ  and  his  army,  the  church.  Rev.  xix.  19  ; 
Dan.  vii.  11. 

6.  In  the  scene  at  the  Red  Sea,  light  is  reflected  on 
this  subject.     That  destruction  of  the  Egyptians  was  a 


168  LECTURE  xra. 

type  of  the  destruction  of  Antichrist,  in  the  seventh  vial, 
as  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  at  the  close  of  this  vial, 
"  The  song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb,"  is  sung ;  Rev. 
XV.  3.  This  teaches  that  the  scene  at  the  Red  Sea  was  a 
type  of  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  In  the  type,  Israel 
had  set  out  for  Canaan ;  the  Egyptians  had  been  terrified 
at  the  death  of  the  firstborn,  and  had  hastened  Israel  away. 
But  they  afterward  pursued  them ;  and  the  chosen  tribes, 
after  they  had  supposed  all  danger  was  past,  found  their 
greatest  trial  of  all.  So  it  may  be  in  the  antitype.  After 
it  is  thought  all  danger  is  past,  and  the  church  is  going 
directly  into  the  Millennium — her  greatest  trial,  as  in  that 
case,  may  come  ;  the  gracious  removal  of  which,  will  oc- 
casion "  the  song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb."  (See 
Exodus  XV.) 

7.  The  oath  of  the  angel  decides  as  follows,  Dan.  xii. 
7,  relative  to  the  wilful  infidel  power  of  these  last  days  ; 
"And  when  he  shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the 
power  of  the  holy  people^  all  these  things  shall  be  finished." 
This  he  says,  when  noting  the  event  which  closes  the 
1260  years  ;  or  the  destruction  of  this  wilful  power.  It 
takes  place  upon  his  accomplishing  to  scatter  the  power 
of  the  holy  people  :  the  very  event  in  our  text.  ]Must  not 
this  be  now  future  1  Says  our  text,  "  And  when  they  shall 
have  finished  their  testimony,  the  beast  that  ascendeth  out 
of  the  bottomless  pit  shall  make  M'ar  upon  them,  and 
shall  overcome  them."  At  the  close  of  their  1260  years, 
then,  this  beast  shall,  for  a  short  time,  scatter  the  power  of 
the  holy  people  !"  Then  he  himself  shall  go  into  perdition, 
and  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished.  The  sense 
of  this  scattering  of  the  power  of  the  holy  people,  the 
event  will  in  due  time  unfold.  This  making  war  upon 
them,  overcoming  them,  and  killing  them,  must  import 
something  of  deep  concern  ! 

Mr.  Scott  says,  "  present  appearances  do  indeed  favour 
the  opinion,  that  the  general  and  successful  war  of  the 
beast  against  the  witnesses  will  be  conducted  under 
another  form  and  other  pretences,  and  perhaps  by  other 
instruments  and  means,  than  have  been  former  assaults. 
Papal  persecutors  were  concealed  infidels.  And  infidels 
concealed  under  any  other  mask,  may  equally  answer  to 
the  prediction."  Although  I  had  never  seen  these  re- 
marks of  ^Ir.  Scott,  when  I  formed  and  published  my 


CHAPTER   XI.  169 

sentiments  upon  this  subject,  I  was  struck  when  I  found 
his  sentiments  so  accordant  with  my  own. 

8.  An  argument  to  show  that  the  witnesses  are  not  yet 
slain,  is  the  fact,  that  none  who  are  in  favour  of  its  being 
a  past  event,  are  able  to  point  to  it ! 

The  description  of  the  event  is  such,  that  had  it  been 
transacted,  none  could  afterward  be  at  a  loss  to  show  the 
fact.  The  witnesses  are  slain  ;  they  lie  in  a  street  of  the 
great  city,  unburied  ;  all  nations  and  tongues  of  the  wicked 
triumph  over  them  ;  they  rise  from  the  dead  ;  they  ascend 
up  to  heaven,  and  their  enemies  behold  them.  Are  things 
like  these  to  be  done  in  a  corner,  and  unable  to  be  dis- 
covered ?  Impossible.  There  is,  the  same  hour,  a  great 
earthquake,  which  shakes  down  a  tenth  part  of  the  great 
city,  or  system.  Many  are  slain,  and  all  are  terrified, 
and  confess  God's  hand.  These  are  great  and  notable 
events ;  have  they  taken  place,  and  yet  none  can  point 
them  out ! 

9.  It  does  not  become  man  to  disbelieve  or  undervalue 
the  warnings  of  the  Word  of  God.  They  are  given  for 
important  purposes,  and  should  be  believed  and  im- 
proved. It  would  seem  natural  for  erring  man  to  mistake 
so  great  an  event  as  the  flight  of  the  angel  of  missions 
over  the  earth,  to  plant  the  gospel  in  every  nation,  kin- 
dred, tongue,  and  people  (a  thing  not  yet  finished),  for  the 
actual  dawn  of  the  Millennium.  But  we  find  this  event 
is,  in  Rev.  xiv.  6,  distinct  from  the  commencement  of  the 
Millennium,  and  antecedent  to  a  number  of  most  import- 
ant events,  which  are  themselves  antecedent  to  the  Mil- 
lennium. And  these  events  should  not  be  blended  or 
overlooked.  If  the  church  has  scenes  of  danger  before 
her,  and  God  has  given  warning  of  it ;  it  will  not  aid  the 
cause  of  Christ  to  cry  peace,  and  assure  her,  her  warfare 
is  already  accomplished.  If  soldiers  have  a  batde  to 
fight,  it  but  ill  prepares  them  for  it,  to  assure  them  they 
have  already  gained  the  victory,  and  the  enemy  are  van- 
quished. Should  such  assurances  be  given  them,  lest  they 
be  discouraged,  would  this  prepare  them  for  the  battle  1 
The  Millennium  is  certain,  and  will  be  glorious.  But  it 
will  be  just  preceded  by  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of 
God  ;  the  last  and  most  violent  attack  of  Satan.  And  no 
victory  must  be  shouted  previous  to  this,  unless  by  anti- 
cipation.    The  armour  must  be  put  on  and  kept  bright,  and 

P 


70  LECTURE   XIII. 

the  warnings  of  the  Word  of  God  sounded.  If  the  short 
depression  of  the  church,  in  our  text,  would  discourage,  if 
known  beforehand,  why  did  Inspiration  predict  it?  This 
question  is  of  great  weight,  should  it  prove  that  it  is  now 
a  past  event.  It  was  once  future,  and  was  predicted. 
Should  it  then  have  been  suppressed,  lest  Christian  exer- 
tion should  be  discouraged  ?  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  all 
Christians  are  not  so  mercenary  as  this  ;  that  they  follow 
not  Christ  for  the  loaves  and  fishes,  but  for  the  miracles. 
Those  who  labour  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  only  in  the  be- 
lief that  all  the  worst  days  to  Zion  are  past,  and  only  good 
days  are  before  us,  and  they  may  live  to  see  the  Millen- 
nium,— possibly  are  not  among  the  best  workmen  ^for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  When  Jeremiah  'announced  to  the 
Jews  that  they  had  great  evils  to  experience  from  the  king 
of  Babylon,  he  w^as  cruelly  persecuted ;  while  the  pro- 
phets (such  as  they  were)  who  assured  them  no  trials 
were  ahead,  were  caressed.  But  Jeremiah  proved  the 
true  prophet,  and  the  best  friend.  The  disciples  were 
elated  with  high  expectations  relative  to  a  kingdom  of 
Christ,  which  they  should  soon  behold  in  vast  magnifi- 
cence. Our  Saviour,  to  correct  their  error,  assured  them 
the  Son  of  man  was  going  to  be  rejected  of  the  elders, 
crucified,  and  put  to  death.  This,  with  the  zealous 
Peter,  was  too  much.  How  vastly  discouraging  !  "  And 
Peter  took  Jesus,  and  began  to  rebuke  him.  This  be  far 
from  thee.  Lord.  This  shall  not  come  unto  thee."  Jesus 
turned,  and  said  to  Peter,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan. 
For  thou  savourest  not  the  things  that  be  of  God  ;  but  the 
things  that  be  of  men !"  True  soldiers  of  the  cross  will, 
when  acting  in  character,  believe  and  improve  the  most 
trembling  warnings  of  heaven  ;  and  will  engage  to  fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith,  though  called  to  seal  their  warfare 
with  their  blood.  "He  that  would  save  his  life,  shall 
lose  it."  Christ's  soldiers  are  not  called  to  enhst  under 
his  banner  with  a  belief  that  the  enemy  are  already  van- 
quished ;  nor  that  the  way  to  heaven  is  henceforth 
smooth  and  bloodless.  Such  are  not  the  motives  which 
Christ  addresses  to  his  true  followers.  But  he  does  allow 
them  to  rejoice,  that  the  greater  the  cross,  the  greater  the 
crown.  And  the  rewards  of  the  last  great  day  may  con- 
vince us,  that  those  who  live  just  before  and  at  the  slaying 
of  the  witnesses,  had  a  lot  of  duty  assigned  them  not  in- 


CHAPTER   XI.  171 

ferior  to  any  of  his  followers  on  earth,  and  not  the  least 
animating  of  them  all.  If  any  are  disposed  to  lend  their 
silver,  gold,  and  jewels  to  the  tribes  of  the  Lord,  with  an 
expectation  only  of  redaubling  their  property  thereby,  in 
time  ;  the  donations  may  serve  the  Israelites  indeed,  but  the 
donors  will  lose  their  reward.  Happy  are  they  who  aid 
the  cause  of  Christ  with  views  truly  evangelical.  We 
must  cast  our  bread  upon  these  waters  of  preparing  the 
way  for  the  Millennium  ;  and  wait  till  the  days  of  heaven 
to  find  it. 

The  street  of  the  great  city  in  the  text,  where  the  slain 
witnesses  lie,  must  be  shown  by  the  event.  It  no  doubt 
means  in  the  most  open  view  of  the  world.  The  city  spi- 
ritually called  Sodom,  and  Egypt,  and  where  our  Lord 
was  crucified,  probably  means  nothing  more  than  the 
great  ruling  infidel  system  of  the  day,  in  whatever  land. 
Tliis  is  a  Sodom  for  lewdness  ;  an  Egypt  for  cruelty  and 
oppression  to  the  people  of  Christ ;  and  an  infidel  Jerusa- 
lem for  the  crucifixion  of  Christ  in  his  members. 

The  particulars  of  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses  ;  of  their 
lying  unburied ;  and  of  the  joys  of  the  wicked  infidel 
world  over  them, — the  fulfilment  of  the  text  will  best  un- 
fold. Much  is  implied  in  the  plain  warning  given ;  but 
the  particulars  of  the  description  were  not  designed  to 
make  us  wise  above  what  is  written.  The  prophecies 
are  to  give  needful  general  warnings  ;  but  not  to  make  us 
prophets.  If  our  faith  embraces  as  particularly  as  God 
informs,  we  need  go  no  further.  And  attempts  to  do  it 
have  but  injured  the  cause  of  prophecy. 

Behold  the  depravity  of  the  heart  of  fallen  man,  that 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  should  torment  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  and  that  men  should  be  capable  after 
all  the  evangelical  light  which  God  has  given,  of  forming 
the  deliberate  plan  of  destroying  the  cause  of  Christ  from 
the  world,  and  should  rejoice  and  triumph  when  they  think 
it  is  accomplished.  Truly,  "  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God." 

The  heart  of  man  must  be  renewed,  or  his  soul  is  eter- 
nally lost.  Could  a  heart  of  such  enmity  be  happy  in 
heaven?  If  admitted  there,  it  would  again,  if  possible, 
slay  the  witnesses,  and  even  God  himself!  If  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  on  earth  "  tormented"  them ;  the  torment 
would  tiiere  be  perfect. 


172  LECTURE  xm. 

Can  light  then,  renew  such  a  heart  as  this  1  Could  the 
Spirit  of  God  himself  cause  light  to  do  it  ?  He  could  not. 
For,  though  he  is  omnipotent,  he  cannot  perform  impossi- 
bilities. "  God  cannot  he  !"  The  carnal  heart  hates  the 
more,  the  more  the  light  shines.  And  nothing  can  prevent 
this,  but  a  new  creating  act  of  God  in  that  heart !  "  Cre- 
ated in  Christ  unto  good  works."  "  I  will  take  the 
stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh ;  and  will  give  you  an 
heart  of  flesh, — and  will  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  sta- 
tutes." "  Because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our 
heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost  that  is  given  unto  us."  "  For  it 
is  God  that  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure  !"  "  Thou  hast  n^rought  all  our  works  in 
us."  We  have  here  the  only  ground  of  hope  for  fallen 
man.  And,  blessed  be  God,  he  that  made  the  heart  of  a 
free  moral  agent,  can  as  easily  new  create  that  heart,  con- 
sistently with  man's  free  moral  agency  and  accountability  ! 
and  all  objection  to  this  is  worse  than  idle  ;  it  is  impious  ; 
for  it  is  an  arraying  of  human  wisdom  against  the  wisdom 
of  Heaven.  And  wo  to  him  that  strives  with  his  Maker. 
He  who  allows  himself  to  add  to  the  word  of  God,  or  to 
diminish  from  it,  will  find  his  part  wanting  in  the  book  of 
life. 

True  Christians  are  God's  witnesses,  and  do  in  heart, 
in  profession,  and  in  life,  bear  witness  to  the  doctrines, 
duties,  and  motives  of  the  gospel.  People  then,  who  do 
not  thus,  fail  of  possessing  the  true  mark  of  the  people  of 
Christ. 

Great  is  the  honour  which  God  sees  fit  to  put  on  his 
witnesses,  to  note  them  as  having  power  to  shut  heaven, 
and  to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues.  Truly  they  may 
say,  "  The  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  is  upon  us."  Let 
all  such  be  humble,  and  confident  in  God.  And  let  them 
take  to  themselves  the  whole  armour  of  God,  and  be  able 
to  stand  in  the  evil  day ! 

Ver.  11.  And  after  three  days  and  a  half  the 
Spirit  of  life  from  God  entered  into  them,  and  they 
stood  upon  their  feet ;  and  great  fear  fell  upon  them 
which  saw  them. 

12.  And  they  heard  a  great  voice  from  heaven 
saying  unto  them,  Come  up  hither.     And  they  as- 


CHAPTER   XI.  173 

cended  up  to  heaven  in  a  cloud  :  and  their  enemies 
beheld  them. 

"  The  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short."  The  re- 
joicing and  sending  of  gifts  one  to  another  of  these  hosts  of 
Antichrist,  soon  close  in  scenes  to  them  vastly  terrific. 
After  the  great  and  notable  depression  of  Zion  for  three 
and  a  half  years,  Heaven  interposed  for  them  by  signal 
events  in  their  behalf,  or  showers  of  grace,  or  both,  and 
produces  what  is  here  noted  as  their  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  Such  figures  are  known  in  the  word  of  God  ;  as 
the  valley  of  dry  bones,  in  Ezek.  xxxvii.,  can  testify.  By 
giving  new  strength  to  the  saints,  and  probably  by  con- 
verting many  hitherto  dead  in  sin,  a  host  of  intelligent  and 
most  zealous  Christians  God  now  raises  up  in  a  sudden 
and  glorious  manner ;  who  step  forth,  like  champions  of 
the  faith,  to  terrify  the  enemy,  and  to  make  them  to  be- 
come, in  a  manner,  like  the  Roman  guards  at  the  tomb  of 
Christ,  who  stood  (or  fell)  aghast,  and  became  as  dead 
men  !  Possibly  the  antitype  of  this  very  scene  is  now  ful- 
filled. This  will  give  such  a  spring  to  the  Christian 
cause,  as  has  never  yet  been  witnessed.  And,  to  express 
the  powerful  triumph  of  the  reanimated  witnesses,  and  the 
confusion  of  the  hosts  of  the  infidel  world,  the  former  are 
mystically  said  to  be  called  by  a  great  and  audible  voice 
from  ahove^  to  ascend  to  heaven ;  which  they  speedily  do 
in  the  full  view  of  all  their  enemies.  The  great  providen- 
tial events,  and  the  poioer  of  divine  grace,  which  will  form 
this  voice,  and  the  ascending  of  the  witnesses  in  clouds  to 
heaven,  the  blessed  events  not  now  far  distant,  will  un- 
fold !  Such  will  be  the  scenes  of  joy  to  the  friends,  and 
of  terror  to  the  enemies  of  our  blessed  Lord.  Haman  will 
die  upon  his  own  gallows  ;  and  Judas  on  his  own  fatal 
selected  tree.  Terrors  and  afirights  to  the  enemy  will 
now  awake  and  multiply :  and  will  close  in  the  fatal 
plunging  of  Antichrist  into  the  ocean  of  divine  wrath. 

Ver.  13.  And  the  same  hour  was  there  a  great 
earthquake,  and  the  tenth  part  of  the  city  fell,  and  in 
the  earthquake  were  slain  of  men  seven  thousand : 
and  the  remnant  were  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  io 
the  God  of  heaven. 

A  great  earthquake,  in  such  a  connexion,  is  some  great 
P2 


174  LECTURE  xm. 

political  catastrophe.  Some  tremendous  scene  will  terrify 
the  antichristiaii  empire.  A  tenth  part  of  it  is  said  to  fall. 
Some  awful  dismemberment  may  take  place  among  its 
component  parts.  Seven  thousand  men  are  slain.  In  the 
original  it  is,  "seven  thousand  names  of  men^'' — perhaps 
men  of  name,  or  leaders  ;  which  would  imply  an  immense 
slaughter  among  their  followers  and  people.  It  cannot 
mean,  in  this  connexion,  that  simply  7000  people  fell  in  the 
event.  This  would  be  but  a  small  number  indeed,  in  such 
a  case.  Seven,  in  this  book,  is  a  noted  perfect  number.  It 
probably  then  means  that  multitudes  innumerable  were 
slaughtered.  And  the  terrified  infidels,  beholding  all  this, 
were  constrained  to  confess  the  hand  of  God  against  them, 
and  to  make  acknowledgments  to  his  glory. 

Ver.  14.  The  second  wo  is  past;  and  behold,  the 
third  wo  cometh  quickly. 

These  scenes  finish  the  period  of  the  second  wo.  The 
period  of  the  first  wo  trumpet  continued  till  the  blast  of 
the  second  ;  and  the  various  scenes  of  judgment  inter- 
vening, though  not  the  appropriate  event  of  the  first  wo, 
yet  were  in  the  period  of  this  wo.  And  the  period  of 
the  second  wo  trumpet  was  to  continue  till  the  open- 
ing of  the  third.  And  these  scenes  upon  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  witnesses,  are  represented  as  finishing  the 
period  of  the  second  yvo  trumpet.  Here  our  question  is 
decided,  that  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses  is  one  of  the 
last  events  before  the  blast  of  the  third  wo  trumpet.  But 
at  the  time  of  the  descent  of  Christ,  Rev.  x.,  his  oath  de- 
cides that  the  seventh  trumpet  was  then  not  yet,  but  was 
some  distance  future.  Hence  the  slaying  of  the  witnesses 
was,  at  the  time  of  the  revolution  in  France,  at  some  dis- 
tance future  !  When  the  witnesses  shall  have  been  slain, 
and  raised,  and  the  earthquake  (within  an  hour  of  the 
event)  shall  have  taken  place ;  the  period  of  the  second 
wo  closes,  and  the  third  comes  quickly. 

Ver.  15.  And  the  seventh  angel  sounded;  and 
there  were  great  voices  in  heaven,  saying.  The  king- 
doms of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdojns  of  our 
Lord,  and  of  his  Christ ;  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever 
and  ever. 

16.  And  the  four-and-twenty  elders,  which  sat 


CHAPTER   XI.  175 

before  God  on  their  seats,  fell  upon  their  faces,  and 
worshipped  God, 

17.  Saying,  We  give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God 
Almighty,  which  art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come  ; 
because  thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy  great  power,  and 
hast  reigned. 

18.  And  the  nations  were  angry,  and  thy  wrath  is 
come,  and  the  time  of  the  dead,  that  they  should  be 
judged,  and  that  thou  shouldst  give  reward  unto  thy 
servants  the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints,  and  them 
that  fear  thy  name,  small  and  great ;  and  shouldst 
destroy  them  which  destroy  the  earth. 

The  events  of  this  passage  are  not  given  in  their  true 
order.  The  battle  of  the  great  day,  in  the  true  course  of 
events,  is  first ;  and  then  the  Millennium.  All  the  pro- 
phets, and  the  reason  of  the  thing,  unite  in  this.  But  in 
our  text,  after  long  and  dismal  scenes  of  judgments  and 
darkness,  the  mind  is  relieved  by  being  carried  at  once 
beyond  the  horrors  of  the  great  battle,  into  the  midst  of  the 
millennial  glory.  The  Christian  is  thus  led  to  see  that 
all  the  remaining  nations  and  people  of  the  world,  after 
the  battle,  are  graciously  brought  to  constitute  on  earth, 
the  visible  kingdom  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  The  glory 
of  the  commencement  of  the  Millennium  arrives. 

But  the  tremendous  scene,  which  in  fact  precedes  the 
Millennium,  although  in  the  rehearsal  is  here  thrown  behind 
it,  is  then  given.  And  the  mode  of  exhibiting  it  is  most 
significant.  The  four-and-twenty  elders  (representatives 
of  the  church)  prostrate  themselves  before  .God,  with  souls 
overflowing  with  holy  gratitude,  praise,  and  adoration. 
They  praise  God  both  for  his  judgments  and  his  mercies. 
They  adore  him  as  the  Being  "  who  is,  and  was,  and  is  to 
come,  the  Almighty."  They  praise  him  that  he  has  taken 
to  himself  his  great  power  to  reign,  to  introduce  his 
spiritual  kingdom  in  the  hearts  of  all  men  then  remainino- 
on  earth.  '•''And  the  nations  were  angry.'''' — Nations  have 
always  been  more  or  less  angry.  But  now,  in  a  most 
emphatical  sense,  they  had  heen  angry  !  and  had  cut  each 
other  oflf  from  the  earth  !  The  event  long  predicted  of  this 
very  season,  God  will  now  have  fulfilled ;  that  "  the  fire  of 
thine  enemies  shall  devour  them !"  Restraints  had  now  been 


176  LECTURE  xm. 

taken  off;  and  the  antichristian  nations,  like  wild  furies,  had 
devoured  each  other.  The  prediction,  "  each  shall  come 
down  by  the  sword  of  his  brother,"  had  been  fulfilled. 
"  And  thy  wrath  is  comer  Long  had  God  announced  to 
the  antichristian  world,  that  the  day  of  vengeance  was  in 
his  heart.  Jesus  Christ  had  predicted  "  the  day  of  ven- 
geance of  our  God."  This  had  long  been  thundered  in 
the  ears  of  guilty  nations,  but  in  vain.  The  alarm  had 
been  sounded :  "  Blow  ye  the  trumpet  in  Zion  ;  sound  an 
alarm  in  my  holy  mountains  ;  let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth  tremble,  for  the  day  of  the  Lord,  for  it  is  nigh  at 
hand."  Now  this  warning  is  fulfilled ;  and  the  church 
hence  adore  God.  "  And  the  time  of  the  dead  that  they 
should  he  judgedy  This  cannot  refer  to  the  final  judg- 
ment; for  that  event  does  not  occur  till  after  the  Mil- 
lennium, and  the  end  of  the  world.  But  the  judgment  in 
the  text  is  before  the  Millennium.  Several  things  had  now 
taken  place,  to  each  of  which  this  clause  might  allude.  It 
might  be  as  though  the  elders  had  said, — and  the  time  of 
the  execution  of  thine  antichristian  enemies  (now  dead), 
whose  guilty  measure  was  filled,  has  arrived,  and  they 
were  cut  off,  according  to  thy  word,  that  their  souls  might 
be  judged,  and  disposed  of  as  thy  justice  and  truth  de- 
manded. This  accords  with  what  we  read  of  the  same 
event  in  Isai.  Ixvi.  24 ;  where,  in  the  Millennium,  from 
one  Sabbath  to  another,  all  flesh  (worshipping  before  God 
in  their  own  earthly  assemblies)  are  noted  as  "  going  forth 
(in  sermons  and  histories  of  the  events),  and  looking  upon 
the  men  who  have  transgressed  (or  the  world  of  infidels 
who  have  fallen  in  that  last  battle) ;  and  their  worm  dieth 
not,  and  their  fire  is  not  quenched ;  and  they  shall  be  an 
abhorring  unto  all  flesh."  The  time  of  these  slaughtered 
infidels  to  be  judged,  and  punished,  had  arrived. 

And  this  clause  of  the  text  may  also  mean,  "  the  time  of 
the  dead"  saints  and  martyrs,  who  had  been  tortured  under 
the  fury  of  antichristian  powers,  had  come, "  that  they  should 
be  avenged^  In  Rev.  vi.  10,  under  the  fifth  seal,  where  the 
souls  of  the  martyrs  under  the  altar  cry,  "  How  long,  O 
Lord,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  ?"  They 
use  the  same  Greek  word  which  is  here  used.  And,  in  the 
battle  of  the  great  day,  God  does  judge  and  avenge  their 
blood.  Such  texts  as  the  following  are  then  fulfilled. 
'^  And  in  her  (Babylon)  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets, 


CHAPTER   XI.  177 

and  saints,  and  of  all  that  were  slain  upon  the  earth." 
"  The  earth  also  shall  disclose  her  blood,  and  shall  no 
longer  cover  her  slain."  "  I  will  cleanse  their  blood  that 
I  have  not  cleansed;  for  the  Lord  dwelleth  in  Zion." 
The  battle  of  the  great  day  is  thus  the  time  of  the  mar- 
tyred saints,  that  they  should  be  avenged.  And  the  pro- 
phets, and  saints,  and  all  who  fear  God,  are  represented 
as  now  being  rewarded.  If  this  means  the  ambassadors 
of  Christ,  and  saints  on  earth ;  these  do  indeed  receive  a 
rich  reward,  in  the  introduction  of  the  glories  of  the  Mil- 
lennium. And  if  it  means  to  include  also  the  ancient 
prophets,  and  saints,  then  in  heaven  ;  they  too  receive 
now  an  additional  reward,  in  the  same  event.  For,  if 
there  is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth  ;  how 
vast  must  be  the  additional  joy  in  heaven,  when  all  the 
millions  on  earth  shall  become  penitent  ? — and  when  the 
blessed  cause  of  salvation,  in  which  their  hearts,  living 
and  dying,  were  bound  up,  shall  now  by  them  be  known 
to  fill  the  world?  This  must  be  an  additional  reward 
indeed.  God  grant  it  may  be  ours  !  "  And  shouldst  destroy 
them  that  destroy  the  earth.''''  The  violent  enemies  of  the 
church,  it  may  well  be  said,  destroy  the  earth.  Their 
wicked  conduct  actually  produces  great  destruction.  And 
it  tends,  in  its  nature,  to  universal  destruction.  And  such 
destroyers,  remaining  impenitent,  God  will  destroy.  And 
the  same  will  be  matter  of  everlasting  praise  in  the  church 
of  the  redeemed. 

\^er.  19.  And  the  temple  of  God  was  opened  in 
heaven,  and  there  was  seen  in  his  temple  the  ark  of 
his  testament :  and  there  were  lightnings,  and  voices, 
and  thunderings,  and  an  earthquake,  and  great  hail. 

John  seemed  to  behold  the  ancient  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, now  in  heaven.  He  beholds  it  opened  ;  and  sees 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  as  that  used  to  be  kept  in  the 
temple.  This  seems  designed  as  a  striking  symbolical 
decision,  that  all  these  works  of  judgment,  and  of  mercy, 
were  performed  only  in  the  covenant  faithfulness  of  God 
to  Christ,  and  to  his  seed. — As  though  the  king  of  glory 
had  kept  the  ark  of  the  covenant  with  him  in  his  heavenly 
palace  ; — was  ever  mindful  of  it ; — and  would  now  make  a 
clear  exhibition  of  all  this  to  his  saints  on  earth.   All  is  done 


178  LECTURE    XIII. 

on  God's  part,  in  fulfilment  of  his  covenant  with  the  second 
Adam,  and  with  his  posterity.  And  the  ark  of  the  testa- 
ment, in  the  temple  of  heaven,  seems  to  be  the  symbolic 
repository  of  this  covenant.  Figures  most  appropriate 
then  follow,  significant  of  the  tremendous  judgments,  which 
pour  down  from  the  temple,  and  the  ark  of  heaven,  and  at 
once  finish  the  scene  with  antichristian  nations  : — "  Light- 
nings, and  voices,  and  thunderings,  and  an  earthquake,  and 
great  hail !"  These  are  the  same  figures  found  under  the 
seventh  vial,  in  the  second  division  of  this  book,  as  accom- 
plishing the  same  event.  It  is  a  fact  terrible  to  the  ene- 
mies of  the  church,  and  happy  for  Zion,  that  the  temple 
of  God,  his  ark,  and  covenant,  are  defended,  as  though 
encircled  with  lightning,  voices,  thunders,  earthquakes,  and 
great  hail !  "  I  will  be  a  wall  of  fire  round  about."  All 
the  elements  of  nature  stand  ready  at  God's  direction,  to 
defend  the  church.  And  the  most  terrible  warrings  of 
those  elements  are  taken,  as  bright  emblems  of  those  deso- 
lating and  fatal  judgments,  which  shall,  ere  long,  sweep 
from  the  earth  all  the  contending  enemies  of  the  church. 
The  prophetic  descriptions  of  those  judgments  are  numer- 
ous, and  of  the  most  terrific  kind.  It  would  afford  a  solemn 
lesson  of  instruction  if  all  these  were  presented  in  a  dense 
form ;  but  this,  the  length  of  the  present  lecture  will  not 
admit.  We  now  arrive  at  the  close  of  the  first  general 
division  of  the  prophetic  part  of  the  Revelation. 

Various  practical  reflections  do  here  crowd  themselves 
upon  the  mind  from  the  events  of  this  chapter ;  but  which 
the  length  of  the  lecture  must  exclude. 


LECTURE    XIV. 


Second  General  Division  of  the  Revelation. 

REVELATION    XII. 

The  object  of  this  chapter  seems  to  be,  to  furnish  a 
general  view  of  the  two  great  combatants, — the  church 
and  the  devil, — during  the  Christian  era,  till  near  the  Mil- 
lennium. We  are  hence  led  back  to  the  commencement 
of  the  Christian  era ;  and  thence  to  traverse  again  the 
period  given  in  the  first  general  division  through  which 
we  have  passed,  as  was  shown  in  the  first  lecture.  Of 
some  of  the  events,  given  in  the  first  general  division,  this 
second  division  gives  also  a  view,  but  under  different  fig- 
ures. And  it  gives  some  events  not  presented  in  the  first 
division.  These  two  general  divisions  furnish  a  great  fa- 
cility to  the  exposition  of  the  Revelation.  The  church 
of  Christ,  in  this  chapter,  is  presented  under  her  most  ap- 
propriate figure — a  female,  in  a  significant  position,  state, 
and  habiliments  ;  praying  and  labouring  for  the  birth  of 
her  offspring.* 

*  Some  have  been  of  opinion  that  the  events  of  this  chapter  were 
to  extend  only  through  the  period  which  preceded  the  rise  of 
popery.     To  perceive  the  incorrectness  of  this  view,  consider  ; 

1.  The  object  of  the  chapter,  which  is  an  introduction  to  the 
second  general  division  of  the  book,  by  exhibiting  the  two  contend- 
ing parties,  the  church  and  the  devil.  The  struggles  and  conten- 
tions of  these  parties  were  to  continue  till  the  Millennium.  The 
same  reason  then,  which  presents  these  parties  at  all,  must  operate 
to  present  them,  till  the  struggle  shall  close  in  the  millennial  glory 
of  the  church,  or  very  near  that  period. 

2.  The  war  between  the  true  church,  and  the  papal  see,  was 
much  longer,  and  of  deeper  interest,  than  was  the  war  between  the 
church  and  the  pagan  Roman  emperors.  Hence  that  was  more 
likely  to  be  the  "  war  in  heaven,^''  noted  in  this  chapter,  than  was 
that  with  the  pagan  emperors. 

3.  That  war  of  the  first  Christian  ages  in  the  pagan  empire,  is 
given  in  this  chapter  before,  and  distinct  from  the  war  in  heaven 
here  noted.  That  was  given  in  the  standing  of  the  dragon  before 
the  woman,  to  devour  her  offspring  ;  and  having  his  symbolic  body 


180  LECTURE    XIV. 

Ver.  1.  And  there  appeared  a  great  wonder  in 
heaven  ;  a  woman  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  the 
moon  under  her  feet,  and  upon  her  head  a  crown  of 
twelve  stars ; 


formed  from  the  form  of  that  empire.     The  subsequent  war  then, 
in  heaven,  must  have  been  in  later  ages. 

4.  This  war  in  heaven  is  subsequent  to  the  flight  of  the  woman 
into  the  wilderness,  verse  6.  But  this  event  took  place  at  the  ma- 
turity of  the  papal  beast,  and  it  commenced  the  noted  1260  years 
of  her  wilderness  state.  Certainly  then,  the  subsequent  war  in 
heaven  was  with  the  papal  see. 

5.  The  imagery  of  this  war  decides  that  it  was  the  war  with 
popery,  and  not  the  war  with  paganism.  It  is  "  in  heaven  /"  the 
symbolic  heaven  of  the  professed  church  of  Christ.  But  a  sys- 
tem of  paganism  can  never  be  so  denominated. 

6.  The  casting  out  of  the  dragon  from  heaven  to  earth  does  not 
fitly  accord  with  his  frustration  in  the  subversion  of  paganism. 
But  it  fully  accords  with  his  fall  in  the  commencement  of  the  fall 
of  popery,  in  the  reformation.  This  fall  of  Satan  was  indeed  a 
symbolic  fall  from  heaven  to  earth ;  from  the  mystical  heaven  of  the 
papal  church,  to  the  earth  of  more  open  opposition  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  The  heaven  is  a  symbol  of  the  visible  church,  not  of  pagan- 
ism.    See  Heb.  xii.  26. 

7.  The  occasion  of  praise,  on  Satan's  being  cast  from  heaven,  is 
such  as  well  accords  with  a  view  of  the  papal  system,  but  not  the 
pagan.  "  For  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down,  who  ac- 
cused them  before  God,  day  and  night."  The  papal  persecutors 
accused  the  witnesses  before  God  indeed  ;  as  rejecters  of  Christ's 
vicar  on  earth,  and  his  true  system.  But  the  pagan  persecutors 
never  accused  the  persecuted  to  God  :  for  they  themselves  hoihreally 
and  prof  cssedly  denied  him,  in  holding  to  their  false  gods. 

8.  The  cause  of  the  rage  of  Satan,  after  being  cast  from  heaven 
is  such  as  fully  accords  with  the  time  of  the  reformation  from 
popery  ;  but  not  at  all  with  the  time  of  the  revolution  in  Rome  : 
"  Because  he  hiowelh  he  hath  hul  a  short  time  ."'  At  the  time  of  the 
revolution  in  Rome,  the  Bible  predicted  a  lo7ig  time  for  the  cause  of 
Satan  !  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  years,  at  least.  But  at  the 
time  of  the  reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  predicted 
time  of  Satan  began  indeed  to  be  short ! 

9.  The  casting  of  floods  from  the  mouth  of  Satan,  in  the  closing 
parts  of  this  chapter,  fully  accords  with  what  has  actually  taken 
place  in  these  last  days,  in  the  Voltaire  system,  and  the  horrors 
which  followed  :  but  it  accords  not  so  fitly  with  any  thing  that 
took  place  in  or  soon  after  the  pagan  empire. 

10.  The  devil  in  the  dragon  actually  continues  his  contentions — 
as  the  same  dragon — with  the  church,  till  he  is  bound  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Millennium,  and  shut  up  in  the  bottomless  pit. 
Rev.  XX.  1,2.     In  Rev.  xiii.  2,  the  dragon  gives  his  power  to  the 


CHAPTER  XII.  181 

We  have  here  a  striking  emblem  of  the  true  church  of 
God  ;  an  emblem  well  known  through  the  sacred  oracles, — 
a  virtuous  female.  Among  the  symbols  of  the  church  is 
found  "  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife  !"  She  is  "  the  King's 
daughter,  all  glorious  within."  She  is  the  spouse  of  Im- 
manuel,  through  the  Songs  of  Solomon.  "  My  dove,  my 
undefiled  is  one.  She  is  the  only  one  of  her  mother. 
She  is  the  choice  one  of  her  that  bare  her."  This  em- 
blem John  seemed  to  behold  in  the  upper  regions  of  the 
air,  in  the  visible  heavens  ;  which  is  a  most  fit  symbolic 
position  of  the  church.  The  church  is  herself  known 
under  the  emblem  of  the  heavens, — meaning  the  visible 
heavens.  Says  Inspiration,  "  Yet  once  more,  and  I  shake 
not  the  earth  only,  but  also  the  heavens."  Or,  not  only 
earthly  kingdoms,  but  the  nominal  church. 

This  symbolic  woman  seemed  to  stand  in  the  front  of 
the  sun,  with  his  bright  rays  dazzling  around  her.  This 
is  a  most  lively  figure  of  the  union  of  the  true  people  of 
Christ  with  him,  the  Sun  of  righteousness — of  their  posi- 
tion in  heavenly  places,  and  their  interest  in  the  avails  of 
his  perfect  provisions  of  gospel  grace  for  their  justifica- 
tion, and  preparation  for  glory.  And  it  is  a  lively  em- 
blem of  their  special  illumination  by  the  Spirit  of  God — 
of  their   Christian  graces,  and  their  fruits   of  holiness  ; 


beast  in  days  long  subsequent  to  the  revolution  subverting  pagan- 
ism, in  320,  in  Rome.  And  in  Rev.  xvi.  13,  after  the  sixth  vial 
(about  this  period  in  which  we  Hve),  one  of  the  three  unclean  spirits, 
like  frogs,  is  from  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  showing  that  the  very 
scenes  of  the  twelfth  chapter  are  still  in  operation,  and  will  be,  till 
near  the  battle  of  the  great  day. 

Thus  the  views  given  of  the  chronology  of  the  events  of  this 
twelfth  chapter,  must  be  correct.  And  the  events  of  the  chapter 
occupy  the  period  from  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  till 
near  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God.  And  the  writers  who  in- 
sist that  they  relate  only  to  the  period  antecedent  to  the  rise  of 
popery,  have  nothing  to  support  their  sentiment,  but  much  to  re- 
fute it.  The  one  argument,  that  the  war  in  heaven,  in  this  chap- 
ter, is  subsequent  to  the  first  flight  of  the  church  into  her  wilder- 
ness state,  by  the  persecutions  of  popery,  fully  oversets  their 
theory  !  This  wilderness  state  of  the  church  was  to  be  1260  years 
under  persecutions  of  popery.  But  it  agrees  with  nothing  that  took 
place  under  paganism.  This  war  of  the  devil,  then,  was  in  the 
papal  heaven — the  symbolic  heaven  of  the  professed  visible  church, 
in  its  papal  corruption. 

Q 


182  LECTURE    XIV. 

also  of  the  gracious  accommodations  of  the  church,  with 
all  needed  gifts  for  her  edification.  The  church  is  thus 
**  clothed  with  the  sun."  "  Unto  you  that  fear  my  name 
shall  the  Sun  of  righteousness  arise." 

This  woman  has  "  the  moon  under  her  feet."     This 
may   remind   us   of  several    things.     The  church  had, 
at   the    commencement   of  the   Christian  era,  risen   su- 
perior to  the  moonlight  of  the  old  dispensation.     Those 
rituals  reflected  the  rays  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  only 
as  the  moon  in  the  night  reflects  the  light  of  the   sun 
upon  us,  while  the  sun  itself  is  hid  from  our  view.     But 
the  Christian  church  rose  superior  to  that  moonlight  sys- 
tem, and  received  her  light  from  Jesus  Christ  himself. 
Her  first  teachers  and  members  literally  beheld  their  Sa- 
viour ;  and  all  their  successors  are  blessed  with  the  literal 
record  which  God  gave  of  his  Son.     Of  this  rich  bless- 
edness, the  moon's  being  under  the  feet  of  this  symbol  of 
the  church,  in  our  text,  was  an  emblem.     And  the  same 
emblem  liliewise  reminds  us  of  the  power  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  which   overcomes    the   world,    and    places  it 
under  the  feet  of  every  true  child  of  God.     "  This  is  the 
victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our  faith."     It 
impresses  the   superior  glory  of  heavenly  things  above 
things  earthly,  and  renders  saints  dead  to  the  world,  and 
to  sin ;  while  it  raises  the  heart  of  grace  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  makes  men  have  their  conversation  in  heaven. 
To  finish  the  sublime  climax,  this  woman  wears  a  crown 
set  with  twelve  gems,  called,  on  account  of  their  brilliancy, 
stars.     This  is  an  emblem  of  her  royalty.     The  follow- 
ers of  Christ  are  called  a  royal  priesthood,  and  they  are 
said  to  be  made  kings  and  priests  unto  God.     Christ,  the 
King  of  glory,  thus  adorns  them  with  his  own  royal  hon- 
ours, which  are  here  denoted  by  a  crown  with  twelve 
points,  at  the  top  of  each  of  which  a  star  is  seen  to  shine. 
To  what  can  these  ornaments  of  the  crown  of  the  church 
allude  ?     No  doubt  they  allude  to  the  twelve  apostles,  and 
their  succession,  the  gospel  ministry.     Christ  in  this  book 
assures  us,  "the  stars  are  the  angels  (ministers)  of  the 
churches."     Such  honour  our  Lord  puts  upon  his  ambas- 
sadors.    "  These  things  saith  he  who  holdeth  the  stars  in 
his   right  hand,  and  who  walketh  in   the  midst   of  his 
golden  candlesticks."     Paul  speaks  of  his  converts  as  his 
crown  of  joy.     And  ministers  of  Christ  are  to  the  church 


CHAPTER   XII. 


183 


her  crown  of  joy.     And  the  number  of  these  stars  seems 
fixed  by  the  fact  that  the  number  of  the  apostles  was 
twelve.     This  part  of  the  emblem  of  the  church  may  de- 
note also  the  doctrines  of  grace,  propagated  by  the  twelve 
apostles.     These  doctrines  the  cliurch  receives,  and  main- 
tains ;  and  hence  she  is  called  "  the  pillar  and  ground  of 
the  truth."     The  distinguishing  truths  of  gospel  salvation, 
supported  by  the  twelve  apostles,  and  the  gospel  ministry, 
have  been  indeed  bright  and  precious  gems  in  the  crown 
of   the  church.      Let    who    will    turn    aside    to    their 
crooked    ways ;    the    immutable    truths    of    Christ    are 
ever  the  same ;  and  they  lie  at  the  foundation,  and  form  a 
crown  of  man's  eternal  glory.     Let  them  be  hated  and 
opposed  by  the  dragon,  by  f\ilse  teachers  and  their  fol- 
lowers ;  the  true  church  will  not  fail  to  contend  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.     She  here  finds 
her  good  hope  through  grace.     And  when  men  will  not 
endure  sound  doctrine,  but  heap  to  themselves  teachers, 
having  itching  ears,  and  will  turn  to  fables  ;  the  people  of 
God  will  support  these  twelve  stars,  and  be  steadfast,  im- 
moveable, always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.* 

*  There  is  a  special  reason  why  the  twelve  apostles  should  be 
viewed  as  twelve  stars  in  the  crown  of  the  church.  They  were 
not  only  the  first  in  commission  in  the  gospel  ministry  ;  but  they 
were  the  most  signal  witnesses  of  the  divinity  of  the  Bible.  Their 
exclusive  excellence  in  this  respect  appears  as  follows.  The  evi- 
dence arising  from  their  testimony,  sealed  with  their  blood,  rests 
not  on  the  mere  opinions  of  men  ;  but  on  infallible  facts^  which 
facts  infallibly  establish  the  divinity  of  our  Bible.  These  facts  are, 
the  hfe,  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  to  heaven  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ !  Of  these  facts,  the  twelve  apostles  were  eyewit- 
nesses. And  they  unitedly  declared  them  at  the  peril  of  their  lives. 
No  selfish  ends  could  have  induced  them  to  do  this  ;  for  it  was  in 
direct  opposition  to  all  the  worldly  interests  and  popularities  of  that 
day,  and  to  the  prejudices  of  the  heart  of  fallen  man.  When  men 
lay  down  their  lives  in  support  of  their  favourite  opinions,  it  evinces 
nothing  more  than  that  they  are  sincere  in  the  belief  of  those 
opinions  :  but  the  certainty  of  the  correctness  of  those  opinions 
must  rest  on  other  evidence.  Their  martyrdom  in  favour  of  those 
opinions  furnishes  not  this  evidence.  Many  have  died  in  favour  of 
paganism.  But  when  men  lay  down  their  lives  in  support  of  cer- 
tain facts,  which  they  have  seen  and  known,  and  this  for  a  sufficient 
length  of  time,  and  under  circumstances  in  which  they  could  not 
have  been  deceived  ;  when  twelve  men  thus  testify,  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives,  and  testify,  too,  to  facts  publicly  known  to  all  people  in 
the  same  region,  and  not  dared  to  be  denied  by  any,  even  the  most 
violent  enemies  ;  the  evidence  in  favour  of  such  facts  becomes  perfect. 


184  LECTURE   XIV. 

Ver.  2.  And  she  being  with  child  cried,  travailing 
in  birth,  and  pained  to  be  delivered. 

3.  And  there  appeared  another  wonder  in  heaven ; 
and  behold  a  great  red  dragon,  having  seven  heads 
and  ten  horns,  and  seven  crowns  upon  his  heads. 

4.  And  his  tail  drew  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  did  cast  them  to  the  earth  :  and  the  dra- 
gon stood  before  the  woman  which  was  ready  to  be 
delivered,  for  to  devour  her  child  as  soon  as  it  was 
born. 

The  delicate  state  of  this  symbolic  woman  is  signifi- 
cant and  impressive,  and  shall  receive  attention  under  the 
fifth  verse.  Who  this  dragon  is  we  are  not  left  to  con- 
jecture. In  verse  9  he  is  called  "  the  devil  and  Satan, 
who  deceiveth  the  whole  world."  The  fallen  angels  are 
spoken  of  as  legions^  because  they  are  many.  It  is  im- 
material whether  the  whole  race  of  them  are  comprised 
in  this  red  dragon,  or  only  their  leader,  the  prince  of 
devils.  Probably  all  the  race  of  fallen  angels  are  included 
They  are  all  united  as  one,  against  the  church.  This 
symbol  derives  its  form  from  the  old  pagan  Roman  em- 
pire, because  it  was  the  prime  instrument  of  the  devil's 


And  v^rhat  are  those  facts  in  the  present  case  ?  They  are  such  as 
infallibly  to  decide  that  our  Bible  (the  Old  and  New  Testaments)  ia 
the  Word  of  God.  If  the  infinite  God  was  indeed  on  earth,  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  wrought  miracles  in  the  view  of  all  men,  and  did 
what  Jesus  did  ;  then  the  evidence  of  the  gospel,  thus  established, 
is  infallible. 

Most  of  the  facts  thus  evinced  by  the  senses,  and  the  united 
testimony  of  the  twelve  apostles,  lay  open  to  the  inspection  of  all 
around.  They  were  seen,  and  acknowledged,  to  the  vast  vexation 
of  the  enemy.  And  the  writers  of  these  facts  gave  their  testimo- 
nies apart,  with  no  appearance  of  trembling  concert,  or  fear  of 
being  detected  in  falsehood  ;  writing  "  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Some  things  which  these  separate  witnesses  thus 
wrote,  seem  at  first  view  to  differ  ;  but  on  close  investigation  they 
are  found  to  agree.  The  writers  herein  discover  their  fearless  hon- 
esty ;  and  that  they  were  no  impostors.  Such  infallible  witnesses 
were  the  twelve  apostles.  Well  then  might  they  be  represented 
by  twelve  stars  in  the  crown  of  the  church.  They  were  those' 
"  who  had  accompanied  Christ  all  the  time  that  he  went  in  and  out 
among  them,  to  be  witnesses.''^  "  Ye  are  my  witnesses  unto  tho 
ends  of  the  earth." 


CHAPTER  XII.  185 

operations  at  the  time  of  this  vision,  and  for  a  number  of 
subsequent  ages.  The  dragon  has  seven  heads,  and  ten 
horns,  because  Rome  had  been  buiU  on  seven  hills  ;  and 
also  its  dynasty  was  to  be  known  under  seven  distinct 
forms  of  government,  as  will  be  shown,  in  the  exposition 
of  the  secular  Roman  beast,  chap.  xiii.  and  xvii.  And, 
as  the  beast  hasten  horns  ;  the  dragon  is  noted  as  having 
the  same.  The  dragon  is  red,  as  that  pagan  empire 
(the  prime  instrument  of  his  annoyance)  was  stained 
with  the  blood  of  the  saints.  The  dragon  has  his  seven 
crowns  upon  his  he.ads^  as  no  doubt  the  devil  managed,  at 
his  pleasure,  the  distribution  of  the  crowns  of  that  empire. 
The  devil  here  received  his  symbolic  form  from  a  descrip- 
tion of  pagan  Rome,  which  was  then  the  signal  instru- 
ment of  his  persecutions  of  the  church ;  but  he  did  not 
cease  to  be  the  persecuting  dragon  when  pagan  Rome 
was  no  more.  The  devil  is  still  known  under  the  same 
figure,  in  the  last  days.  See  Rev.  xvi.  13,  and  xx.  2. 
Here,  at  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God,  the  dragon  is 
found  aiding  the  event.  And  this  figure  suggests  how 
fully  Satan  manages  the  wicked  powers  of  the  earth. 
The  pagan  empire  was  here  noted  as  the  body,  and  the 
devil  the  soul,  of  this  dragon.  So  fully  does  Satan 
work  in  the  children  of  disobedience,  and  lead  them  cap- 
tive at  his  will. 

By  the  dragon's  tail  drawing  a  third  part  of  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  casting  them  to  the  earth,  we  may  understand 
that,  by  his  infernal  influence,  he  could,  to  a  great  extent, 
depose  dignitaries  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  hurl  them 
from  their  stations,  when  not  likely  to  answer  his  infernal 
designs. 

And  the  position  of  the  dragon, — standing  before  tlie 
woman,  to  devour  her  offspring  as  soon  as  it  is  born, 
gives  a  striking  view  of  the  vigilance  and  the  power  of  the 
wicked  one,  to  destroy  the  seed  of  the  church.  It  was 
the  malicious  eye  of  this  same  infernal  agent,  that  watched 
the  birth  of  the  Babe  of  Bethlehem,  to  devour  him  by 
Herod.  Here  was  the  influence  which  instigated  that 
Roman  governor  to  direct  the  wise  men  of  the  east  to 
bring  him  word,  after  they  had  found  the  infant  Saviour ; 
pretending  his  wish  to  worship  him;  but  intending  to 
destroy  him.  The  same  satanic  influence  was  operating, 
when  the  same  Herod,  upon  finding  the  eastern  sages 
Q2 


186  LECTURE    XIV. 

had  not  in  this  thing  obeyed  him,  sent  forth  his  soldiers, 
and  cut  in  pieces  the  infant  children  of  Bethlehem.  Here 
was  a  deed  fully  in  character  with  the  great  red  dragon 
standing  before  the  woman,  to  devour  her  offspring  as 
soon  as  born.  An  emblem  of  the  same  thing  we  find 
in  Exod.  i.  16-22  ;  the  decreeing  of  the  death  of  the  male 
children  of  the  people  of  God  in  Egypt.  The  prophet 
Ezekiel  (chap.  xxix.  3)  says,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  God, 
Behold  1  am  against  thee,  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  the 
great  dragon  that  lieth  in  the  midst  of  the  river."  Pha- 
raoh is  here  called  the  great  dragon,  meaning  the  croco- 
dile of  the  river  of  Egypt,  which  must  be  supposed  to 
have  devoured  the  infants  of  Israel  cast  into  it ;  because 
that  tyrant  had  ordered  those  infants  to  be  cast  into  the 
river.  This,  we  may  conceive,  is  the  parent  text  of  the 
passage  under  consideration :  only  in  the  latter,  the 
dragon  becomes  a  land  animal,  and  is  red,  and  takes  his 
head  and  horns  from  the  ancient  form  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. The  noted  means  of  the  devil's  opposition  to  the 
church  were  to  be, — persecution,  errors,  heresies,  pagan- 
ism, the  Man  of  Sin,  and  the  infidelities  of  the  last  days. 
When  Satan  became  alarmed  at  the  propagation  of  Chris- 
tianity, he  instigated  first  the  Jewish  rulers,  and  then  the 
pagan  emperors,  to  persecute  the  church  with  deadly 
hatred.  To  this  the  position  of  the  dragon  in  our  text 
alludes. 

Ver.  5.  And  she  brought  forth  a  man-child,  who 
was  to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  her 
child  was  caught  up  unto  God,  and  to  his  throne. 

This  man-child  born  to  the  church  alludes,  we  may 
believe,  both  to  her  Saviour,  and  to  her  spiritual  succes- 
sion. It  was  Christ  who  was  to  rule  all  nations  with  his 
rod  of  iron  ;  as  Psalm  ii.  9.  And  he  was  to  be  born  of 
a  woman,  born  of  the  church ;  she  is  instructed  to  say, 
"  For  unto  us  a  child  is  born ;  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  and 
the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder."  To  this 
our  text  seems  to  allude.  The  church  under  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  is  but  one  and  the  same  church. 
"  My  beloved  is  one."  And  the  Old  Testament  church 
was  long  ardently  desiring  the  birth  of  her  Saviour,  and 
praying  for  the  event.     "  0  that  the  salvation  of  Israel 


CHAPTER   XII.  187 

was  come  out  of  Zion  !"  Simeon  and  Anna  were  waiting 
at  the  temple  for  this  event.  Pious  kings  and  prophets 
had  long  done  the  same,  in  their  ardent  desires  for  the  birth 
of  Christ.  He  was,  accordingly,  known  as  "  the  desire  of 
all  nations  1"  His  birth  was  then  pre-eminently  the  desire 
of  the  church.  And  well  might  she  be  denoted  by  the 
figure  in  our  text,  a  woman  bringing  forth  her  son,  who 
was  to  rule  all  nations  with  his  rod  of  iron  !  This  was  a 
most  happy  figure  of  the  church  at  that  period,  just  intro- 
ductory to  the  new  and  last  dispensation.*     This  accords 


*  Some  have  made  the  following  objections  to  the  man-child  here 
being  Christ :  Christ  was  born  before  the  text  was  written  ;  and 
"  the  writer  here  spoke  as  a  prophet,  and  not  as  an  historian." 
Hence  events  then  future  must  have  been  exclusively  intended. 
Reply, — This  seems  plausible  ;  but  it  has  no  weight.  The  writer 
John,  it  is  true,  was  speaking  as  a  prophet.  But  if,  to  exhibit 
events  then  future  to  the  best  advantage,  something  on  which  they 
rested  was  already  past  ;  prophets  repeatedly  took  the  liberty  to 
commence  with  that  past  event.  This  is  a  fact.  In  Rev.  xiii.  15, 
the  writer  stands  in  vision  on  the  bank  of  the  sea,  and  beholds  the 
secular  Roman  beast  rising  from  its  billows.  This  was  the  same 
beast,  and  event,  with  what  we  find  given,  in  the  same  figure,  in 
Dan.  ix.  7,  as  distinct  from  the  papal  power.  But  this  secular 
Roman  beast  had  risen  ages  before  this  view  of  it  given  to  John  in 
Rev.  xiii.  1  ;  though  he  was  then  "  speaking  as  a  prophet,  and  not 
as  an  historian,"  no  less  than  in  our  text.  The  object  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  then  was  to  predict  things  future  relative  to  this  beast.  But 
he  takes  the  liberty  to  commence  the  description  with  a  view  of  the 
origm  of  this  beast,  notwithstanding  that  this  event  was  then  long 
past.  It  was  necessary  that  he  should  do  thus,  in  order  to  form  a 
whole  of  the  event  to  be  described.  The  same  thing  is  done  in  Rev. 
xvii.  when  predicting  the  beast  of  the  last  day,  to  arise  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  just  before  he  goes  into  perdition  in  the  battle  of  the 
great  day  of  God.  This  power  of  infidelity  of  these  last  days  is 
there  prefigured  as  a  new  beast,  from  the  world  of  wo  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  as  ahealed  head  of  the  old  secular  Roman  beast.  And, 
in  order  to  identify  him  with  that  beast,  he  is  here  described  as  hav- 
ing seven  heads  and  ten  horns ;  while  yet  the  first  of  those  seven 
heads  existed  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  most  of  them  were  now 
for  a  long  time  past  events.  It  is  thus  a  plain  case,  that  when  a 
whole  is  to  be  presented  to  view,  an  essential  part  of  which  is  already 
past,  the  prediction  commences  with  that  past  event ;  just  as  in 
our  ie-^t.  See  another  instance  of  it.  Daniel  beheld,  in  svision, 
the  rise  and  progress  of  the  four  great  eastern  empires  ;  and  he  was 
led  to  predict  them  as  events  then  future,  because  various  of  them 
were  then  future.  But  the  Babylonian  empire  was  then  past :  yet 
he  commenced  with  this,  as  though  it  had  been  future,  because  he 


188  LECTURE  xrv. 

with  the  first  promise  of  Christ,  as  the  seed  of  the  woman. 
The  birth  of  Christ  was,  above  all  other  events,  glorious ; 
and  was  the  foundation  of  the  new  birth  of  all  his  spiritual 
seed.  Most  happy  and  appropriate  is  it,  then,  that  it 
should  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  events  given  in  this 
general  division  of  the  Revelation. 

But  the  figure  in  our  text  includes  also  the  new  and 
spiritual  birth  of  all  the  seed  of  Christ,  as  the  children 
and  succession  of  the  church.  They  are  "  born  again  ;'* 
and  noted  as  born  of  the  church.  Paul  speaks  of  Jeru- 
salem (the  church)  as  being  "the  mother  of  us  all." 
Isaiah  speaks  of  Zion  (the  church)  as  travailing,  and  her 
children  being  born.  Paul  %ys,  "  My  little  children,  for 
whom  I  travail  in  birth  again,  till  Christ  be  formed  in  you." 
The  Psalmist  says,  "  Of  Zion  it  shall  be  said,  this  man 
was  born  in  her."  "  The  Lord  shall  count,  when  he  writ- 
eth  up  the  people,  that  this  man  was  born  there !"  The 
new  birth  of  the  children  of  Christ  rests  on  the  literal 
birth  of  the  Saviour.  Both,  then,  may  be  included  in  the 
figure  in  the  text.  Both  are  out  of  the  course  of  nature  ; 
both  are  by  special  promise.  The  birth  of  Isaac  (given 
by  special  Divine  promise)  was  a  type,  both  of  the  birth  of 
Christ,  andof  thenew  birthof  the  seed  of  Christ,  the  seed  of 
the  church,  as  mightbe  shown  from  express  divine  testimony, 
and  as  the  church  well  know.  All  were  by  promise,  and 
by  special  divine  intervention.  The  literal  birth  of  Christ 
was  an  earnest  of  the  new  birth  of  his  chosen.  Christ 
was  the  true  spiritual  Seed  of  Abraham.  And,  in  him, 
believers  are  "  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  heirs  according 
to  the  promise  !"  Most  fitly,  then,  does  the  birth  in  our 
text  exhibit  both  of  these  events. 

As  Christ  was  to  rule  all  nations  with  his  rod  of  iron, 
so  he  engages  that  his  spiritual  seed  shall  do  the  same, 
Rev.  ii.  26,  27  ;  "  He  that  overcometh,  and  keepeth  my 
work  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  power  over  the  na- 
tions ;  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  as  the 


would  give  a  whole.  Another  objection  has  been,  "  Christ  was 
born  of  the  Jewish,  and  not  of  the  Christian  church  !"  Had  this 
objector  forgotten,  that  the  Jewish  church  and  the  Christian  church 
were  both  essentially  one  1  God  never  had  but  one  church, — one 
vineyard, — one  olive-tree.  These,  and  all  similar  objections,  then, 
are  wholly  without  weight. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


189 


vessel  of  a  potter  shall  they  be  broken  to  shivers  ;  even 
as  I  received  of  my  Father :"  alluding  to  Psalm  ii.  8,  9, 
where  the  Father  officially  gives  this  same  power  to 
Christ.  Christ  here  puts  the  honour  of  it  on  his  people, 
and  thus  unites  them  to  him  as  they  are  found  united  in 
the  text. 

Jesus  Christ  was,  while  an  infant,  in  a  mystical  sense, 
caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God,  in  his  infallible  protection 
from  the  rage  of  Satan  in  Herod.  The  same  clause  of 
the  text  had  a  literal  fulfilment  in  Christ  when  he  ascended 
to  heaven,  and  literally  took  the  throne  of  the  universe. 
And  the  spiritual  seed  of  the  church  are  also  mystically 
caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God  in  the  infallible  protection 
which  God  affords  them  in  his  covenant  and  providence. 

Some  have  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  man-child  in 
the  text  alluded  to  Constantine,  who  was  the  instrument 
of  the  revolution  in  the  Roman  empire  from  paganism  to 
Christianity,  in  the  fourth  century.  But  this  is  to  degrade 
the  sacred  passage.  It  may  be  a  fact,  however,  that  the 
passage  may  have  received  a  kind  of  illustration  in  the 
case  of  Constantine  ;  as  it  did  also  in  Martin  Luther, 
and  .  many  other  men-children  of  the  church,  or  emi- 
nent instruments  of  good  to  her.  Such  were  men-chil- 
dren of  the  church  indeed  !  and  they  were  remarkably 
protected  against  the  shafts  of  the  enemy,  as  though  caught 
up  to  the  throne  of  God.  And  it  was  a  fact,  that  after  the 
revolution  in  the  empire,  the  church  was  protected  by  its 
strong  arm  from  further  persecution  from  paganism.  A 
son  of  the  church  sat  on  the  throne  of  the  empire  ;  and  per- 
secuting pagans  were  put  down.  But  this  clause  of  the 
text  has  a  meaning  infinitely  more  noble,  in  that  Christ 
is  on  the  throne  of  heaven ;  and  his  church  in  her  suc- 
cession is  under  Almighty  protection  in  every  age. 

Ver.  6.  And  the  woman  fled  into  the  wilderness, 
where  she  hath  a  place  prepared  of  God,  that  they 
should  feed  her  there  a  thousand  two  hundred  and 
threescore  days. 

The  devil,  finding  himself  confounded  in  the  subversion 
of  his  beloved  paganism,  and  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  empire,  began  ere  long  to  exhibit  his  deep 
management  in  getting  up  another  power  most  hostile  to 


190  LECTURE    XIV. 

the  kingdom  of  Christ :  another  persecuting  power,  but 
under  the  Christian  name.  The  Man  of  Sin  arose,  "  whose 
coming  was  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with  all  power, 
and  signs,  and  lying  wonders ;  and  with  all  deceivable- 
ness  of  unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish."  The  true 
church  was  then,  at  the  rise  of  the  papal  beast,  driven  to 
her  wilderness  state  of  1260  years.  This  is  the  same 
depression,  and  for  the  same  period,  with  that  of  the  two 
witnesses  prophesying  in  sackcloth,  in  the  first  division  of 
the  Revelation,  chap.  xi.  3.  The  ancient  church  in  Israel 
was  made  to  sojourn  in  the  wilderness  of  Arabia  a  painful 
season,  before  they  could  enter  Canaan,  that  type  of  good 
things  to  come.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  pre- 
lude to  the  wilderness  state  of  the  church  in  our  text,  and 
to  that  in  verse  14,  which  precedes  her  millennial  glory. 
But,  in  this  her  depressed  state,  God  would  not  fail  nor 
forsake  her.  Even  in  this  state  of  exile,  she  should  not 
fail  of  being  upheld  and  protected.  The  history  of  the 
true  followers  of  Christ  through  the  dark  ages,  and  under 
the  insults  and  persecutions  of  the  papal  see,  gives  the 
exact  description  of  this  wilderness  state  of  the  church. 
And  her  supports  in  that  depressed  state  give  the  true 
sense  of  the  clause,  "  that  they  should  feed  her  there  !" 

History  furnishes  the  fact,  that  the  line  of  the  true  fol- 
lowers of  Christ  were  indeed  preserved,  for  a  great  course 
of  centuries,  in  a  kind  of  literal  wilderness,  in  the  valleys 
of  Piedmont  and  Dauphiny ;  where  the  churches  of  the 
Albigenses  and  Waldenses  were,  for  a  very  long  time,  the 
keepers  of  the  pure  doctrines  of  grace.  Here  was  a  kind 
of  literal  fulfilment  of  the  text,  united  with  a  mystical  ful- 
filment of  it  in  the  depressions  of  the  true  followers  of  the 
Lamb  during  much  of  the  long  period  noted.  This  view 
may  facilitate  the  exposition  of  the  next  flight  of  the  wo- 
man in  verse  14,  where  she  is  borne  on  eagles'  wings  to 
another  wilderness. 

Ver.  7.  And  there  was  war  in  heaven :  Michael  and 
his  angels  fought  against  the  dragon ;  and  the  dra- 
gon fought,  and  his  angels, 

8.  And  prevailed  not ;  neither  was  their  place 
found  any  more  in  heaven. 

9.  And  the  great  dragon  was  cast  out,  that  old 
serpent,  called  the  devil,  and   Satan,  which  deceive 


CIiAPTER    XII.  191 

eth  the  whole  world  :  he  was  cast  out  into  the  earth, 
and  his  angels  were  cast  out  with  him. 

We  have  here  the  war  between  Satan  and  his  legions 
on  the  one  hand  ;  and  Jesus  Christ  and  his  followers  on 
the  other.  The  seat  of  this  war  is  represented  as  high  in 
the  visible  region  of  the  air.  This  position  is  a  fit  em- 
blem of  the  professed  church  of  Christ  on  earth.  It  here 
denotes  that  this  war  of  the  devil  was  carried  on  against 
Christ  in  a  church,  and  by  a  people  that  bore  his  name, 
and  yet  were  utterly  hostile  to  him.  This  was  the  case 
indeed  in  the  papal  church.  This  church  carried  on  a 
continual  war  against  Christ  in  his  two  witnesses,  who 
in  the  text  are  noted  as  the  angels  of  Michael,  a  name  of 
Christ,  importing  one  like  God,  and  meaning  God  in  hu- 
manity. These  true  followers  of  Christ,  the  corrupt, 
anti-christian  Church  of  Rome  persecuted  as  heretics,  and 
put  to  most  cruel  deaths  very  many  thousands  of  them.  For 
many  ages  this  battle  progressed  with  great  fury  on  the 
part  of  the  dragon  in  the  papal  church.  He  caused  this 
mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth  to  be 
drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  (with  her 
two  horns  of  a  lamb)  to  speak  like  a  dragon  ;  Satan 
caused  this  impious  Man  of  Sin  to  "  exalt  himself  above 
all  that  is  called  God,  or  is  worshipped.  So  that  he,  as 
God,  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he 
is  God!" — claiming  to  be  "his  holiness,'''  perfect,  and 
infallible  !  Well  may  such  a  war  be  represented  as  car- 
ried on  in  a  region  high  in  the  visible  heavens.  This  war 
was  long  and  terrible  through  the  dark  ages. 

But  the  time  of  the  devil's  defeat  arrived ;  the  time  for 
the  commencement  of  that  series  of  divine  judgments 
which  should  issue  in  the  total  destruction  of  the  papal 
delusion.  The  dragon  should  no  longer  be  found  reign- 
ing undisturbedly  over  the  kings  of  the  earth,  in  that 
hateful  papal  system.  He  should  no  longer  hold  his  po- 
sition as  among  the  stars  of  heaven.  This  falling  of  the 
dragon  from  heaven  took  place  in  the  Reformation,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  by  the  instrumentality  of  Martin  Luther, 
and  his  associate  reformers.  The  papal  system  was  then 
stripped  of  its  gaudy  hypocritical  attire,  and  was  exhibited 
to  the  world  as  a  corrupt,  blasphemous,  and  most  abomin- 
able system  of  the  wicked  one.     This  was  a  fall  of  Satan 


192  LECTURE   xiy. 

indeed.  And  it  was  most  fitly  prefigured  by  the  falling 
headlong  of  a  great  red  dragon,  and  of  his  hosts  of  minor 
dragons,  from  an  exalted  height  in  the  visible  heaven  to 
the  earth  !  This  infernal  enemy  of  the  true  people  of  God 
is  here  called  "  the  old  serpent,"  in  allusion  to  the  literal 
serpent  which  the  devil  entered  in  paradise  to  deceive  the 
mother  of  the  human  race.  He  is  called  the  devil,  to  tell 
precisely  who  he  is,  and  that  he  is  the  accuser.  He  is  called 
*'  Satan,"  as  being  an  enemy.  And  it  is  added,  "  who 
deceiveth  the  whole  world,"  to  warn  man  of  his  fatal 
influence  to  delude  and  to  ruin.  This  fatal  influence  of 
delusion  he  has  been  permitted  of  God  to  exercise  in  all 
ages  hitherto,  to  the  eternal  ruin  of  by  far  the  greater  part 
of  the  human  family,  now  dead;  thus  deceiving  the  whole 
world.  Most  potent  spirit  of  delusion  !  having  multiform 
wiles,  suited  to  all  meridians,  ages,  climes,  and  circum- 
stances of  men !  "  Fly  from  this  fell  deceiver's  snares  :  O 
soul  of  Adam,  fly  !" 

Ver.  10.  And  I  heard  a  loud  voice  saying  in  hea- 
ven, Now  is  come  salvation,  and  strength,  and  the 
kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  power  of  his  Christ : 
for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down,  which 
accused  them  before  our  God  day  and  night. 

1 1 .  And  they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  and  by  the  word  of  their  testimony ;  and  they 
loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death. 

12.  Therefore  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  and  ye  that 
dwell  in  them.  Wo  to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth 
and  of  the  sea  !  for  the  devil  is  come  down  unto  you, 
having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth  that  he  hath 
but  a  short  time. 

The  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect  in  glory,  and  the 
saints  on  earth,  on  this  occasion,  gave  glory  to  God  in  the 
highest.  Th^ir  souls  unitedly  leaped  for  joy,  that  the 
papal  masterpiece  of  the  devil's  imposition  was  at  length 
detected  in  its  filthy  abominations  ! — and  that,  as  far  as 
the  Reformation  prevailed,  it  had  fallen  into  its  merited  con- 
tempt !  The  devil  had  here,  by  his  first-born  son,  the  pope 
of  Rome,  and  by  all  the  clan  of  his  subordinate  papal 
authorities,  accused  the  true  followers  of  Christ, — accused 


CHAPTER    XII.  193 

them  day  and  night  before  God,  of  being  guilty  of  great 
impiety  in  their  rejection  of  the  blasphemies  and  mumme- 
ries of  popery.  The  two  witnesses  were  indeed  thus 
accused  continually,  and  for  ages.  But  the  Protestants 
had  here  obtained  a  glorious  victory  over  them,  and  over 
Satan,  by  their  reliance  on  Jesus  Christ  alone  ;  and  their 
prayers,  and  bold  persevering  testimonies  borne  for  Christ, 
even  at  the  constant  peril  of  their  lives.  In  this  they  had 
prevailed.  Such  prayers  and  testimonies  shall  never  be 
in  vain.  If  the  answer  to  their  prayers  tarry  long ;  wait 
for  it :  for  at  the  end  it  shall  speak,  and  will  not  lie  !  All 
the  holy  family,  in  heaven  and  earth,  were  called  upon  to 
rejoice  on  the  occasion, — a  very  different  improvement 
from  what  was  made  in  the  courts  of  Satan  and  the  papal 
see.  A  wo  is  now  heard,  as  denounced  against  "the 
inhabiters  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  sea,"  because  of  the 
rage  of  the  wicked  one.  This  address  is  made  to  the 
unbeheving  mass  of  mankind,  whether  in  continents  or 
isles.  For  the  rage  of  Satan,  and  his  new  inventions  of 
mischief,  would  be  in  proportion  to  the  greatness  of  his 
defeat;  and  to  his  perceptions  of  the  shortness  of  his  re- 
maining time  to  do  mischief  on  earth.  He  would,  thence- 
forth, redouble  his  furious  exertions.  And  this  was  found 
to  be  in  fact  the  case ;  as  the  abominable  code  of  the  Je- 
suits (which  was  then  soon  got  up),  and  as  the  more  horrid 
system  of  illuminism,  can  testify.  Satan  had  formerly 
seen  the  fall  of  his  beloved  system  of  paganism,  in  the 
Roman  empire.  He  had  then,  with  vast  labours  and 
perseverance,  got  up  his  still  more  beloved  system  of 
popery ;  which  had  most  fully  answered  his  purpose,  for 
many  centuries.  But  now  this  too  was  exposed  in  its 
hateful  abominations, — had  fallen  from  its  zenith,  and  had 
commenced  its  plunge,  like  a  huge  rock  dislodged  from 
the  top  of  a  steep  and  vast  mountain.  This  event  Satan 
well  perceived  to  be  but  a  prelude  to  his  final  confinement 
in  the  bottomless  pit.  His  rage  then,  was  full.  Its  occa- 
sion was  to  him  and  his  cause  dreadful. 

Most  interesting  are  the  position  and  the  dress  of  the 
symbolic  woman.  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world." — "  A 
city  set  on  a  hill." — "  Clothed  with  the  sun, — the  moon 
under  her  feet ;  crowned  with  twelve  stars."  Happy 
indeed,  if  all  professors  did,  in  heart  and  life,  well  answer  to 
this  figure.  True  saints  do,  in  a  good  degree,  answer  to  it. 
R 


194  LECTURE    XIV. 

But  behold  the  position,  strength,  and  malice  of  the 
devil ! — How   important    to   hear   and   obey   the  divine 
injunctions   given  in  relation  to  him !  such  as, — "  Give 
no  place  to  the  devil," — "  Whom  resist  steadfastly  in  the 
faith," — "  Lest  Satan  should  get  an  advantage  of  us  ;  for 
we  are  not  ignorant  of  his  devices," — "  Be  sober ;  be  vigi- 
lant ;  because  your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion, 
goeth  about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour," — "  Watch, 
and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation."     Wretched  is 
the  state,  and  most  fearful  the  prospects,  of  those  who  are 
led  captive  by  Satan  at  his  will.     He  will  surely  lead 
them  down  to  the  burning  lake,  unless  prevented  by  a 
miracle  of  grace.      "Shall   the  prey  of  the  mighty  be 
delivered  ?"     Satan  is  mighty  ;   and  sinners  are  his  prey. 
Most  certainly  would  a  new-born  infant  fall  a  fatal  prey  to 
a  great  red  dragon,  if  left  in  his  grasp.      Great  indeed  is 
the  honour  put  upon  the  new-born  succession  of  the  church, 
that  it  should  be  included,  with  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion, in  the  symbolic  man-child,  who  shall  rule  all  nations  ; 
and  who  is  caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God.     Verily,  iheir 
cause  will  live  ;  and  it  will  fill  and  bless  the  world.    Who 
would  not  be  of  their  blessed  community  ?    Here  is  the  city 
of  salvation  ;  the  city  of  our  God.     If  the  devil  w?iS  foiled 
in  the  Reformation,  which  was  the  commencement  of  the 
sinking  of  popery  ;  his  rage  was  but  invigorated.     And 
it  is  not  now  confined  to  old  papal  lands.     We  may  be 
assured  the  dragon  has  not  failed  of  visiting  this  land  of 
the  pilgrims.     He  has  found  his  way  hither.     And  great 
are  his  eflforts  to  ruin  the  true  church  in  America.     May 
the  church  of  Christ  here  awake,  then,  to  her  dangers  and 
her  duties.     And  may  her  prayers,  alms,  vigilance,  and 
evangelical  eflforts  for  the  conversion  of  souls  be  such  as 
to  accord  with  her  height  of  privileges.     When  Zion  tra- 
vails, spiritual  children  will  be  born.     God  assures,  "  I 
have  never  said  to  the  seed  of  Jacob,  Seek  ye  me  in  vain." 
If  Satan  rage,  your  spiritual  succession,  0  Zion,  will  be 
kept  as  though  caught  up  to  the  throne  of  God.      Say, 
then.  The  Lord   is  my  strength  and    my  salvation ;   of 
whom  shall  1  be  afraid?     I  will  go  in  the  strength  of  the 
Lord  God ;  I  will  make  mention  of  thy  righteousness,  even 
of  thine  only.     "  The  Lord  is  my  light,  and  my  salva- 
tion !" 
But,  0  sinners,  out  of  Christ, — what  is  your  standing, 


CHAPTER    XII.  195 

in  the  light  of  the  figures  in  our  text  ?  Will  you  continue 
to  be  led  captive  by  Satan  at  his  wilH  He  designs  to  con- 
vey you  down  to  his  own  infernal  abodes.  AVill  you  go? 
Will  you  cheerfully  follow  him  thither? — What  then  must 
be  your  future  and  eternal  reflections  in  hell?  They  will 
constitute  the  worm  thatdieth  not;  and  they  will  furiously 
blow  the  fire,  which  shall  not  be  quenched.  Turn  then, 
to  the  stronghold,  ye  prisoners  of  hope  !  you  may  now 
escape  the  jaws  of  the  infernal  dragon.  He  that  is 
stronger  than  the  strong  man  armed,  is  now  ready  to  be 
your  sure  salvation.  O  hear,  and  improve  his  proclama- 
tion of  "  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the 
prison  to  them  that  are  bound."  The  prey  of  the  mighty 
may  now  be  delivered.  Fly,  then,  from  the  tyrant  of  the 
world  of  despair :  lest  his  empire  over  you  be  eternally  con- 
firmed, and  your  endless  perdition  with  him  be  inevitable ! 


LECTURE  XV. 


REVELATION    XII. 

Ver.  13.  And  when  the  dragon  saw  that  he  was 
cast  unto  the  earth,  he  persecuted  the  woman  which 
brought  forth  the  ma.n-child. 

14.  And  to  the  woman  were  given  two  wings  of 
a  great  eagle,  that  she  might  flee  into  the  wilderness, 
into  her  place,  where  she  is  nourished  for  a  time, 
and  times,  and  half  a  time,  from  the  face  of  the  ser- 
pent. 

Tn  the  sketch  given  in  this  tv/elfth  chapter  of  the  Rev- 
elation, of  the  struggles  between  the  church  and  Satan, 
from  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era  till  near  the 
battle  of  the  great  day  of  God,  we  are  in  our  text  brought 
to  events  of  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
pf  the  former  part  of  the  seventeenth. 


196  LECTURE    XV. 

Satan,  in  the  events  of  the  antecedent  verses,  found 
himself  and  his  legions  cast  out  by  the  Reformation  from 
the  symbolic  heaven  of  high  popularity  in  the  Romish 
church,  to  the  earth  of  open  opposition  to  Christ.  This 
forced  upon  him  a  keen  conviction  that  his  remaining  time 
on  earth  was  short.  The  devil  now  therefore  set  himself 
to  invent  new  forms  of  opposition  to  Christ.  And  his  in- 
fernal court  soon  gave  birth  to  that  most  detestable  order, 
the  Jesuits,  who  proved  powerful  supporters  of  the  sink- 
ing popery.  This  code  of  imposition  ^vas  the  master- 
piece of  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  till  the  still  deeper 
scheme  of  illuminism  arose,  as  copied  from  it  with  vast 
improvements,  and  having  infidelity,  instead  of  popery,  for 
its  latent  object.  By  the  aid  of  the  Jesuits,  the  dragon 
now  instigated  new  and  horrid  persecutions  ;  to  which  the 
first  verse  of  our  text  alludes.  He  "  persecuted  the 
woman,"  the  Protestant  church ;  a  sketch  of  which 
persecution  shall  here  be  given. 

Louis  XIV.  repealed  the  edict  of  Nantz,  in  which 
tolerance  had  been  given  to  the  Protestants  in  France ; 
and  he  in  a  short  time  destroyed  and  banished  two  mil- 
lions of  his  subjects.  The  noted  massacres  of  Protest- 
ants in  France,  in  Ireland,  and  in  Poland  now  took  place. 
Also  the  violent  and  deadly  persecutions  raised  against 
the  pious  Piedmontese,  and  the  slaughter  of  Protestants 
ill  other  lands,  not  exceptinsf  Britain,  the  land  of  our 
fathers.  Many  even  there  were  forced  to  seal  ibeh  Chiis- 
tian  testimony  with  their  blood.  Scott,  upon  that  period, 
says,  "  No  computation  can  reach  the  number  of  those 
who  have  since  the  Reformation  been  put  to  death  for  their 
maintaining  of  the  profession  of  the  gospel,  in  opposition 
to  the  Church  of  Rome.  A  million  of  poor  Waldenses 
perished  in  France.  Nine  hundred  thousand  orthodox 
Christians  were  slain,  in  less  than  thirty  years  after  the 
institution  of  the  order  of  the  Jesuits.  The  Duke  of  Alva 
boasted  of  his  having  put  to  death  thirty-six  thousand,  in 
the  Netherlands,  by  the  hands  of  the  common  executioner, 
in  the  space  of  a  few  years.  The  Inquisition  destroyed, 
by  various  tortures,  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  in 
thirty  years."  Thus  the  dragon,  in  his  mighty  rage  at 
his  loss,  in  the  Reformation,  persecuted  the  woman,  as  in 
our  text  had  been  predicted. 

The  flight  of  the  church,  in  verse  14,  followed,     Th^ 


CHAPTER   XII.  197 

true  followers  Of  Christ  had,  a  thousand  years  before, 
been  depressed  to  a  state,  called  a  wilderness,  at  the  rise 
of  popery  ;  as  predicted  in  verse  6  of  the  context.  The 
true  sense  of  the  second  flight  (that  in  our  text)  exposi- 
tors have  failed  of  giving,  on  account  of  the  duration 
which  seemed  to  be  ascribed  to  it,  which  is  1260  years. 
This  was  the  length  of  time  ascribed  to  the  first  flight, 
verse  6. 

That  first  wilderness  state  was  to  be  1260  years,  from 
the  time  of  the  manifestation  of  the  papal  beast  to  the 
battle  of  the  great  day,  when  Antichrist  should  go  into 
perdition,  and  to  the  second  flight  the  same  length  of  time 
seems  to  be  ascribed :  which  has  led  writers  on  the  sub- 
ject to  conceive  that  the  two  accounts  (one  in  verse  6,  and 
one  in  verse  14)  must  allude  to  the  same  event.  But  this 
confounds  the  chronology,  and  the  events  of  the  chapter. 
The  difliculty  which  has  led  to  so  great  an  error,  can 
easily  be  removed.  The  account  of  the  duration  of  the 
second  flight  (that  in  our  text)  must  be  elliptically  ex- 
pressed. It  is  as  though  the  writer  had  said,  the  church 
thus  flew  to  her  new  retreat, yb/*  the  1260  years;  meaning 
for  the  remaining  part  of  that  well  known  period.  That 
this  is  the  sense,  is  evident  from  the  necessity  of  the 
case.  For  the  flight,  be  it  what  it  may,  is  within  several 
centuries  of  the  close  of  the  noted  1260  years;  and  hence 
the  sense  must  be,/br  the  remaining  part  of  that  noted  pe- 
riod I  And  we  find  languaoe  similar  to  this,  relative  to 
the  1260  years,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments!  in 
Dan.  xii.  6,  and  in  Rev.  xiii.  5 ;  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
subjoined  note.* 

*  "  A  new  thing,"  long  after  the  rise  of  both  the  secular  Roman 
beast,  and  of  popery,  had  been  shown  to  Daniel,  viz.  the  rise  of  a 
system  of  infidelity,  in  the  last  days.  The  question  was  asked, 
«'  How  long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of  these  wonders  '?"  i.  e.  How 
long  is  it  from  the  rise  of  this  infidel  influence,  to  the  battle  of  that 
great  day  of  God]  And  the  reply  is,  "  For  a  time,  times,  and  an 
half,"  which  is  the  1260  years,  which  had  before,  chap,  vii.  25, 
been  ascribed  to  the  duration  of  the  papal  horn  ;  and  is  afterward, 
for  the  same  reason,  ascribed  to  the  duration  of  the  depression  of 
the  witnesses.  Rev.  xi.  3,  and  to  the  same  event,  as  a  wilderness 
state  of  the  church,  Rev.  xii.  6.  It  could  not  therefore  mean  that 
this  infidel  system,  after  it  should  arise  in  the  last  days  (many  cen- 
turies after  the  rise  of  popery),  should  remain  1260  years,  but 
only  to  the  close  of  that  term.  The  end  of  the  wonders  should 
R2 


198  LECTURE   XV. 

The  flight  of  the  woman  in  our  text  is  manifestly  an 
event  of  the  last  days,  as  being  subsequent  to  the  Refor- 
mation in  the  16th  century,  and  to  the  persecutions  which 
arose  after  it,  from  the  Jesuits  against  the  Protestants  in 
Europe.  And  the  following  circumstance  decides  that  it 
was  distinct  and  distant  from  the  first  flight  of  the  true 
church  to  a  wilderness,  at  the  rise  of  popery,  viz.  this 
first  flight  was  occasioned  by  being  in  the  vicinity  and 
grasp  of  popery ;  but  in  the  second,  the  church  flies  to  a 
distant  region,  "  from  the  face  of  the  serpent,"  meaning 
the  dragon  in  popery. 

"What  then  was  this  second  flight  ?  To  aid  in  furnish- 
ing an  answer,  let  the  following  suppositions  be  made. 
Suppose  a  new  continent  had  been  lately  discovered,  when 
those  Protestants  were  thus  persecuted ;  a  continent  in  a 
part  of  the  world  distant  from  the  face  of  the  old  papal 
Roman  earth ;  a  continent  vast,  embracing  all  the  climes, 
fertilities  of  soil,  beautiful  varieties,  and  natural  conve- 
niences, desirable  for  the  habitation  of  the  greatest 
and  most  happy  people  on  earth.  Suppose  it  to  have 
been  put  into  the  minds  of  the  best  of  the  Protest- 
ants, under  their  cruel  persecutions,  to  flee  over  a  vast 
ocean,  to  form  their  settlement  in  this  new  world,  in  order 
to  find  a  peaceful  asylum  for  the  rights  of  conscience, 


come  at  the  end  of  the  noted  1260  years.  This  fully  answered  the 
design  of  the  interrogator,  "  How  long  shall  it  be  to  the  end  of 
these  wonders  1"  We  have  the  same  elliptical  use  of  the  same 
period,  and  for  the  same  reason,  in  Rev.  xiii.  5.  The  secular  Ro- 
man beast,  there  given,  is  noted  as  continuing  1260  years.  But 
this  could  not  have  been  designed  as  noting  the  whole  duration  of 
that  beast ;  for  he  had  risen  before  the  Christian  era.  See  Daniel 
vii.  7.  Its  whole  continuance  then  is  about  2000  years  :  and  yet 
here  1260  is  the  time  ascribed  to  it.  The  meaning  necessarily  is 
(as  when  the  same  thing  is  noted  in  Daniel,  in  the  above  passage), 
he  continues  to  the  close  of  the  noted  1260  years.  This  mode 
of  speech  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  common  in  Israel.  They 
had  their  jubilee,  recurring  after  every  lapse  of  49  years,  or  on 
each  50th  year  ;  as  their  noted  year  of  release.  When,  then,  an 
Israelite,  at  any  period  of  the  49  years,  fell  into  bondage  ;  the  ques- 
tion would  arise,  how  long  has  he  lost  his  liberty  1  The  answer 
would  be,  the  49  years  ;  meaning,  to  the  close  of  that  known  pe- 
riod from  the  present  time.  None  would  understand  that  reply  as 
meaning  that  such  a  man  has  the  whole  of  that  period  now  to 
serve  ;  but  only  the  remaining  part  of  it,  be  it  more  or  less.  Such, 
is  the  sense  of  the  length  of  the  flight  in  our  text. 


CHAPTER   XII.  199 

and  the  rights  of  man.  Suppose  them  entering  on  the 
flight,  and  by  the  signal  protection  of  Heaven,  safely  reach- 
ing that  far  distant  continent.  Suppose  God  there  pro- 
tects them,  increases  them,  and  causes  them  to  become  a 
great  and  renowned  nation ;  established  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  rights  of  conscience  and  of  civil  liberty,  and  on  a 
political  eminence  which  overlooks  the  old  world,  and 
causes  the  thrones  of  tyrants  there  to  tremble.  Suppose 
their  descendants  soon  to  multiply  into  a  great  nation,  to 
become  the  envy  of  all  other  nations,  and  to  bid  fair  to 
be  the  great  means  of  the  conversion  and  bliss  of  the 
world.  Suppose  the  church  of  Christ  there  to  flourish 
far  beyond  all  other  churches  on  earth,  and  to  form  there 
a  seat  for  the  commencement  of  the  special  showers  of  the 
Spirit  of  grace  in  the  last  days,  and  to  seem  to  be  clearly 
destined  to  give  a  new  and  correct  model  to  the  whole 
militant  church  of  Christ.  Let  these  things  be  supposed  ; 
and  then  let  the  question  be  asked,  What  and  whither 
is  the  second  flight  of  the  woman  in  the  Revelation  ? 
Would  you  not  immediately  point  to  this  new  region  of 
the  church,  and  say,  thither  was  her  flight,  and  there 
is  her  gracious  lodgment,  assigned  by  propitious  Heaven? 
This  is  all  reality,  as  the  American  church  can  testify. 
The  thing  was  transacted  by  our  pilgrim  fathers.  As 
this  exposition  of  the  text  is  wholly  new^  and  as  it  gives  an 
interpretation  of  great  interest  to  the  church  on  earth,  if 
correct ;  I  shall  here  adduce  my  arguments  in  favour  of 
the  correctness  of  it. 

1.  The  time  of  the  flight  of  our  pilgrim  fathers  to  this 
continent  accords  with  the  flight  in  our  text.  The  latter 
was,  after  the  dragon  saw  that  he  was  cast  out  from  his 
papal  height  of  impositions  by  the  light  of  the  Reformation 
in  the  16th  century  ;  and  after  his  subsequent  persecutions 
of  the  church  of  Christ.  And  this  was  the  very  time  of 
the  flight  of  our  pilgrim  fathers  to  this  western  continent. 

2.  The  occasion  of  the  flight  of  our  pilgrim  fathers 
hither,  most  fully  accords  with  the  occasion  of  the  flight 
in  our  text.  About  the  commencement  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  numbers  of  devout  Protestants  in  Britain,  being 
deeply  pained  with  the  relics  of  popery,  which  they  found 
to  be  still  held  in  the  established  English  church,  entered 
into  covenant  with  each  other  that  they  would  take  the 
liberty  to  regulate  their  faith  and  religion  only  by  the  word 


/ 


200  LECTURE  xr. 

of  God.  Several  large  churches  thus  united  under  their 
own  pious  pastors.  But  this  liberty  taken,  so  offended  the 
established  English  church,  that  a  spirit  of  persecution 
soon  rose  upon  these  dissenters  with  fury,  which  did  not 
content  itself  with  cruel  mockings  merely,  but  it  proceeded 
to  cruel  prosecutions  and  imprisonments.  Some  of  these 
pious  people  were  now  forced  to  flee,  and  leave  their  fami- 
lies and  means  of  living  ;  and  new  scenes  of  persecutions 
commenced.  It  would  be  affecting,  and  much  to  my  pur- 
pose, to  give  here  a  full  history  of  the  trials,  emigrations, 
and  perplexities  of  the  Puritans  in  Britain,  which  led  the 
way  to  the  flight  of  this  people  to  America  ;  but  this  would 
exceed  my  proposed  limits.  1  will  content  myself  then 
just  to  notice,  in  the  old  well-known  track,  their  removal 
to  Holland,  and  thence  over  the  Atlantic. 

The  trials  and  vexations  of  these  our  fathers,  before  they 
left  their  native  land  and  continent,  were  such,  as  were 
kindly  designed  of  God  to  lead  them  to  "  cease  from  man^^^ 
and  trust  in  him  alone.  They  were  especially  calculated 
and  designed  to  lead  the  Puritans  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
civil  and  religious  rights  of  man.  Of  this  rich  benefit  they 
would  have  failed,  had  their  various  entreaties  for  some 
degree  of  lenity  been  listened  to  by  their  oppressors ; — 
even  as  Luther  (the  great  reformer)  would  have  failed  of 
accomplishing  the  designs  of  Heaven  in  the  Reformation, 
had  the  pope  listened  to  his  proposals  for  accommodation. 
But,  as  in  the  case  of  Luther,  the  Most  High  designed  to 
make  thorough  work  in  reformation,  and  hence  permitted 
not  the  pope  to  comply  with  Luther's  conciliatory  propo- 
sals ;  so,  in  the  case  of  the  Puritans,  whom  God  was  pre- 
paring for  a  flight  to  America,  he  designed  effectually  to 
shake  them  off  from  all  papal  superstition,  and  to  bring 
them  to  a  new  and  distant  retreat ;  that  a  cradle  might  here 
be  formed  for  the  knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  the  rights 
of  conscience,  and  of  civil  liberty.  Such  was  the  cruel 
conduct  of  the  persecutors  of  these  Puritans,  that  they 
were  driven  to  determine  on  fleeing  their  country.  After 
much  prayer  and  consultation,  they  resolved  to  escape  to 
Holland.  But  the  English  government  forbade  their  de- 
parture, and  barred  the  vessels  of  their  harbours  against 
them.  They  however  found  means  to  get  on  board  a 
vessel  for  Holland  ;  but  the  captain  betrayed  them.  And, 
after  being  robbed  of  their  clothing,  and  their  females  being 


CHAPTER   XII.  201 

insulted,  they  were  forced  back,  and  some  of  them  were 
imprisoned.  Such  horrid  barbarities  increased,  instead  of 
diminishing  their  numbers.  They  were  again  attempting 
to  enter  on  board  a  ship  for  Holland ;  when  a  British 
armed  force  was  seen  rushing  upon  them.  The  captain 
of  the  vessel,  with  some  on  board,  slipped  away,  as  the  wind 
was  favourable,  and  was  gone.  Some  husbands  had  got 
on  board  without  their  wives  and  children,  as  the  latter 
were  up  a  creek  at  a  little  distance.  All  on  shore  fell 
into  the  hands  of  this  armed  force,  who  brandished  their 
swords  over  the  heads  of  this  defenceless  band  with 
savage  voices.  This  furious  armed  band  led  off  these 
helpless  captives,  hurrying  them  from  place  to  place,  and 
delivering  them  from  one  officer  to  another,  till  their  fury 
was  allayed. 

But  these  persecuted  Puritans  found  means  to  flee  from 
their  cruel  country:  and  they  arrived  in  Holland.  In 
Leyden  they  found  floods  of  vice,  and  soon  learned  that 
this  was  not  their  home,  that  they  must  seek  another 
region.  After  twelve  years' residence  there;  they  mutu- 
ally conceived  a  strong  desire  to  seek  a  home  in  a  remote 
part  of  the  world  ;  and,  with  much  prayer  and  mutual 
counsel,  they  resolved  to  brave  the  Atlantic,  and  to  fly  to 
the  new  continent,  then  lately  discovered  in  the  west.  Says 
a  noted  writer,  "  They  became  satisfied  that  they  had  as 
»-oal  an  indication  of  the  Divine  will,  that  they  should  thus 
do,  as  had  Abraham  Umt  he  shuuld  leave  his  Chaldean 
territory,  for  the  land  of  promise." 

3.  The  character  of  this  band  of  the  worshippers  of 
God  who  fled  to  America,  was  such  as  fully  to  accord 
with  the  sublime  figure  in  our  text.  They  may  be  said  to 
have  been  selected  of  God  from  the  mass  of  even  the 
Protestant  multitudes,  to  people  a  new  world,  and  to 
commence  what  was  divinely  determined  here  to  be  done  ; 
even  as  a  husbandman  selects  and  cleanses  his  best  wheat, 
to  seed  a  new  and  peculiar  field.  They  were  most  bar- 
barously slandered ;  but  were  the  very  best  of  people. 
The  evidence  of  this  is  full,  and  is  given  in  a  periodical 
publication  in  the  following  description  of  our  pilgrim 
fathers :  "  They  were  the  most  remarkable  body  of  men 
the  world  ever  knew.  For  many  years  they  were  the  theme 
of  unmeasurable  invective  and  derision.  They  were  ex- 
posed to  the  utmost  licentiousness  of  the  press  and  of  the 


202  LECTURE    XV. 

Stage,  at  a  time  when  the  press  and  the  stage  were  licen- 
tious.    The  public  would  not  take  ihem  under  their  pro- 
tection, but  they  were  abandoned  without  reserve  to  sa- 
tirists  and  dramatists.     The  Puritans   were  men  whose 
minds  had  derived  a  peculiar  character  from  their  contem- 
plation of  eternal  things.     Not  content  with  acknowledg- 
ing, in  general  terms,  an  overruling  Providence;  they  as- 
cribed every  event  to  the  will  of  that  Being  for  whose 
power  nothing  is  too  vast,   and  for  whose  inspection  no- 
thing is  too  minute.    To  know,  serve,  and  enjoy  him  was 
with  them  the  great  end  of  existence.     The  ceremonious 
homage  which  too  many  substitute  for  the  pure  worship 
of  the  heart,  they  rejected.     Instead  of  being  content  with 
occasional  glimpses  of  God;  they  aspired  to  gaze  fully  on 
his  brightness,  and  to  commune  with  him,  as  it  were,  face 
to  face.     The  difference  between  the  greatest  and  the 
least  of  mankind,  seemed  with  them  to   vanish.     They 
despised  all  the  dignitaries  of  this  world.     If  they  were 
unacquainted  with  many  works  of  philosophers;  they  were 
deep  read  in  the  oracles  of  God.     If  their  names  were 
not  found  in  the  registers  of  heralds;   they  believed  them 
to  be  recorded  in  the  book  of  life.     If  their  steps  were  not 
accompanied  with  splendid  trains  of  servants ;  legions  of 
ministering  angels  had  charge  of  them.    Their  palace  was 
a  house  not  made  with  hands.    Their  diadems  were  crowns 
of  glory.    On  the  rioh,  on  nobles,  anfl  on  pricota  (zu  crtlled) 
they  looked  down   with  pity ;  while   they  deemed  them- 
selves to  be  richer  in  more  precious  treasures ;  eloquent  in  a 
language  more  exalted  ;  nobles    by  the  right  of  grace ; 
and  priests  by  the  imposition  of  mightier  hands.     The 
meanest  intelligent  was,  in  their  view,  a  being  to  whose 
destiny  a  trembling  importance  belonged  ;  and  on  whose 
slightest  actions  the  spirits  of  light  and  darkness  looked 
with  anxious  interest.     Events  which  short-sighted  mor- 
tals ascribe  to  earthly  causes,  had  in  their  view  been  or- 
dained from  above.     The  same  Puritan   seemed   to  be 
made  up  of  two  different  sorts  of  men  ;  the  one,  all  self- 
abasement,  penitence,  gratitude,  and  love ;  the  other,  in- 
flexible, sagacious.     The  one  could   prostrate  himself  in 
the  dust  before  God ;  the  other  feared  not  to  set  his  foot 
on  the  neck  of  a  tyrant.   In  devout  retirements  the  Puri- 
tan prayed  with  groans  and  tears,  and  seemed  to  hear  the 
lyre  of  angels,  and  the  templing  whispers  of  fiends.     But 


CHAPTER    XII.  203 

when  the  same  Puritan  took  his  seat  in  council,  or  girded 
on  his  armour  for  war, — how  changed  !  People  who 
knew  nothing  of  these  godly  men,  but  their  plain  visages, 
might  laugh.  But  they  had  little  reason  to  laugh,  when 
encountering  them  in  the  hall  of  debate,  or  on  tiie  field  of 
battle.  These  fanatics, — falsely  so  called, — brought  to 
their  civil  and  military  affairs,  a  coolness  of  judgment, 
and  an  immutability  of  purpose,  which  some  people  thought 
inconsistent  with  religion,  but  which  in  fact  were  the  fruit 
of  it.  The  intenshy  of  their  piety  made  them  tranquil  to 
every  thing  else.  This  their  ruling  sentiment  had  sub- 
jected to  itself  hatred,  ambition,  and  worldly  fear.  With 
them,  death  had  lost  its  terrors,  and  pleasure  its  charms. 
They  had  indeed  their  smiles  and  their  tears,  but  not  for 
things  earthly  !" 

Such  were  our  pilgrim  fathers,  who  fled  from  dire  op- 
pression for  righteousness'  sake,  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
peopled  New-England.  No  people  on  earth,  if  the  Jews 
be  excepted,  ever  had  equal  reason,  with  us,  to  venerate 
and  to  rejoice  in  the  character  of  their  ancestors.  Happy 
are  those  of  their  descendants  who  possess  the  mantle  of 
their  evangelical  spirit ! 

4.  The  trials  of  our  pilgrim  fathers,  even  after  those 
which  have  been  noted  as  occasioning  their  flight  to  those 
wilds  of  America,  were  such  as  well  to  accord  with  the 
figure  in  our  text,  of  their  flight  being  into  a  wilderness  ! 
They  set  forth  for  their  distant  retreat.     But  they  must  be 
made  to  feel,  at  the  outset,  that  they  were  indeed  entering 
on   trials;    such  trials   as    we  can  perceive  were  well 
denoted  by  the  figure  of  a  wilderness  state.      Though 
their  coming  hither  has  proved  to  have  been  of  such  vast 
importance  to  the  church,  and  to  the  world ;    yet  almost 
every  thing  seemed  to  withstand  the  event.     One  of  their 
vessels,  soon  after  their  voyage  was  commenced,  sprang  a 
leak ;  and  they  must  return  from  sea,  to  refit.     In  a  second 
attempt  of  the  voyage,  they  must  be  driven  back  from  sea 
by  a  tempest.     They  put  to  sea  a  third  time  ;  and  another 
tempest  seemed  to  dispute  their  passage ;    insomufth,  that 
they  began  devoutly  to  fear  that  Heaven  was  against  them ; 
and  that  they  must  rehnquish  their  enterprise.     But  God 
meant  not  so.     He  designed  to  try  them  indeed,  and  to  a 
degree,  which  should  bear  some  proportion  to  the  import- 
ance of  the  occasion,  and  of  the  state,  on  which  they  were 


204  LECTURE    XV. 

entering.  But  Heaven  would  see  to  it,  that  this  flight,  of 
such  deep  interest  to  the  church  in  the  last  days,  should 
not  fail !  God  would  bear  this  select  band  of  the  woman'^s 
seed  to  the  place  of  their  distant  retreat,  on  the  eagles' 
wings  of  his  special  providence  and  grace,  though  it  were 
over  a  dangerous  ocean.  They  should  safely  reach  the 
place  of  their  destination;  and  the  rock  of  Plymouth 
should  receive  them  from  the  watery  element.  They 
were  brought  to  this  place  without  their  own  design ; 
having  agreed  with  the  captain  to  land  them  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Hudson  (New- York).  God  "  led  them  by  a  right 
way  ;"  yet  no  thanks  to  the  treacherous  captain.  "  There 
are  many  devices  in  a  man's  heart ;  nevertheless  the  coun- 
sel of  the  Lord  that  shall  stand."  The  band  of  pious  pil- 
grims must  first  people  New-England.  And  God  had 
here  prepared  the  way  for  them,  having  by  a  plague,  the 
year  before,  cut  off  nine-tenths  of  the  natives ;  while  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  the  natives  were  very  numerous 
and  powerful,  and  might  soon  have  destroyed  the  feeble 
band  of  the  pilgrims. 

The  destination  of  this  people  of  God  was  indeed  to  a 
wilderness.  Grant  that  the  term  is  found  in  a  figurative 
passage,  and  means  a  wilderness  of  trials :  nothing  is 
abated  from  the  beauty  of  the  figure,  from  the  fact,  that 
near  the  front  of  their  mystical  wilderness  must  stand  a 
literal  one ;  and  such  a  one  as  the  world  besides  could 
not  furnish, — a  wilderness  of  9,000  miles  in  length,  and 
filled  with  savage  beasts  and  savage  men, — and  this  fee- 
ble band  thrown  into  it,  just  at  the  setting  in  of  winter ! 
On  this  literal  wilderness  they  must  enter,  and  convert  it 
into  a  habitation  for  themselves  and  their  descendants. 
Vastly  greater,  and  more  terrific,  was  this  their  literal  wil- 
derness, than  was  that  of  the  church  in  her  first  flight, — 
the  wild  alpine  valleys  of  the  Waldenses  and  Albigenses. 
The  terrors  of  this  literal  wilderness  of  America,  united 
with  the  other  trials,  dangers,  deaths,  and  privations,  which 
our  fathers  here  experienced,  most  strikingly  exhibit  to  us 
the  fitness  and  the  strength  of  the  figure,  that  this  flight  of 
the  woman  should  be  to  a  wilderness.  The  early  history 
of  this  band  of  God's  worshippers  further  illustrates  the 
strength  of  the  figure.*     Read  their  trials  from  the  natives ; 

*  To  see  something  of  these  trials  of  the  woman,  recollect  the  fol- 


CHAPTER    XII.  205 

their  early  wars  with  them ;  their  subsequent  wars  with 
the  French  and  Indians  from  Canada ;  and  the  revolution- 
lowing  items.  The  first  ship's  crew  of  the  pilgrims  were  101  :  and, 
in  less  than  four  months,  46  of  these  were  here  no  more.  The 
pilgrims  early  purchased  land  of  ttie  natives,  and  made  friendly 
arrangements  with  them,  which  continued  for  50  years,  with  the 
exception  of  one  short  war  with  the  Pequots  in  Connecticut,  which 
closed  in  1637.  But  in  1675,  a  tremendous  war,  called  Philip's  war, 
commenced.  This  noted  chief  (living  in  Rhode  Island)  foresaw  the 
extinction  of  the  natives  of  this  land,  unless  a  fatal  blow  could  be 
struck  to  prevent  it,  by  the  extermination  of  the  new  inhabitants. 
To  accomplish  this,  he  laid  a  deep  plan,  and  combined  in  union  all 
the  Indian  tribes  in  this  part  of  the  continent,  to  make  a  united 
attack  upon  all  the  settlements  of  our  fathers.  And  with  such  vast 
secrecy  was  this  plan  laid  and  kept,  that  the  infant  colonies  learned 
nothing  of  it  till  the  tempest  began  to  burst  upon  them.  It  opened 
upon  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  colonies  ;  and  soon  after  it 
burst  upon  the  New-Hampshire  settlements,  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Piscataqua  River ;  where  men,  women,  and  children  were  cut  in 
pieces,  houses  burnt,  flocks  destroyed,  and  many  people  dragged  off 
into  the  wilderness  by  savage  bands.  After  three  years  of  much  hor- 
ror, the  noted  Philip  was  slain,  and  a  peace  was  obtained,  which  con- 
tinued 10  years. 

Philip  was  a  son  of  Massasoit,  the  noble  Indian  chief,  who  was 
a  great  friend  to  the  pilgrims.  The  latter  gave  his  youngest  son  the 
name  of  Philip ;  who,  after  his  father's  death,  became  a  great 
warrior,  and  enemy  to  the  English.  The  last  and  great  battle  with 
him  was  fought  Dec.  19,  1695.  His  head-quarters  were  in  a  swamp, 
in  the  middle  of  which  were  several  acres  of  high  land,  where  were 
many  Indian  fiimilies,  and  their  provisions.  A  battle  of  three  hours 
was  here  fought,  in  which  700  Indian  warriors  fell  dead,  and  300 
more  soon  died  of  their  wounds  ;  and  their  chiefs  were  slain  :  600 
■wigwams  were  burnt,  with  many  of  their  aged,  their  women,  and 
their  children.  The  loss  of  the  pilgrims  was  considerable.  Philip 
escaped  ;  but  was  the  next  July  shot  through  the  heart,  and  his  tribe 
became  extinct,  as  did  many  other  tribes  in  these  regions.  In  this 
war,  our  fathers  lost  about  600  men  of  the  flower  of  their  strength  ; 
twelve  towns  were  destroyed,  and  600  dwelling-houses. 

In  1688,  the  French  and  Indians  combined  in  another  war  of  IJ 
years,  which  occasioned  vast  horrors.  In  1703,  another  war  of  10 
years  commenced  with  redoubled  fury.  After  this,  a  peace  of  9 
years  ensued.  Another  bloody  struggle  then,  of  3  years,  com- 
menced, called  Lovel's  war ;  who,  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  volun- 
teers, flung  himself  into  the  head-quarters  of  the  warlike  Pickwack- 
ets  ;  and  though  he  and  most  of  his  heroes  fell,  the  scene  filled  the 
Indians  with  terror ;  and  a  peace  ensued.  Thus  out  of  50  years, 
27  were  consumed  in  bloody  contests.  In  1737,  a  throat  distemper 
commenced,  which  continued  long,  and  was  vastly  fatal.  In  Kings- 
ton, N.  H.,  40  were  attacked,  and  not  one  of  them  survived.  One 
town  buried  113;  another  100;  another  127  ;  another  88;  another 
99  ;  another  132  ;  another  310  ;  and  another  104. 

s 


206  LECTURE   XV. 

ary  struggles  with  the  mother  country :   and  from  these 
afflictions,  the  figure  received  further  ilhistrations. 

And  what  further  illustrations  may  be  given  to  this  fig- 
ure, in  trials  •  still  awaiting  the  American  church,  from 
infidelity,  licentiousness,  and  from  local  national  interests 
and  jealousies, — the  prevalence  of  Romanism,  the  deep 
system  of  the  infidelity  of  the  last  days,  and  the  wars  of 
Satan  against  "  the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed  here 
that  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  Christ ;"  time  and  events  will  decide.  It 
would  not  be  strange,  should  they  see,  yet,  trying  days^ 
before  the  Millennium. 

Most  interesting  was  this  flight  to  America  among  the 
events  of  the  last  days,  and  towards  the  conversion  of  the 
world  ;  wonderful,  in  relation  to  the  rights  of  conscience, 
to  civil  liberty,  and  to  the  introduction  of  the  Millennium  ! 
*'So  shall  they  fear  the  name  of  the  Lord /rom  the  west" 
says  Isaiah,  in  predicting  the  commencement  of  the 
Millennium.  It  then  follows,  "  and  his  glory  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun." 

A  church  in  the  west,  then,  was  to  be  planted  to 
commence  the  Millennium ;  from  which  church  light 
should  roll  back  to  the  most  distant  east ;  and  to  the  vari- 
ous extremities  of  the  world.  We  may  hence  be  assured, 
that  whatever  calamities  may  befall  our  national  govern- 
ment (in  which  but  too  little  concerning  God  is  main- 
tained), the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed  here  who  keep 
the  commands  of  God,  God  will  keep  as  the  apple  of  his 
eye. 

5.  It  is  believed  no  valid  objection  can  be  made  against 
this  view  of  the  flight  in  our  text.  Should  a  latent  mur- 
mur be  heard,  that  this  is  doing  too  much  honour  to  the 
church  in  America ;  and  should  it  be  asked,  Is  this  the 


In  1744  commenced  a  war  between  England  and  France,  which 
brought  the  French  and  Indians  from  Canada  against  our  infant  set- 
tlements for  16  years, — called  the  old  French  war.  In  this,  the 
sutferings  of  our  frontier  settlements  were  great  and  perplexing; 
none  could  safely  labour  in  their  fields.  The  trembling  mother, 
when  committing  her  children  to  rest,  felt  a  torture  of  soul,  lest 
before  the  next  morning  both  she  and  they  might  be  slain,  or  burnt 
alive.  In  1760  peace  was  restored.  But  the  horrors  of  the  war  of 
our  Revolution  soon  after  occurred.  These  are  a  few  hints  of  the 
wilderness  state  of  our  pilgrim  fathers. 


CHAPTER    XII.  207 

only  people  of  God  on  earth?  Reply  : — The  view  given 
of  the  figure  does  not  say  thus.  But  it  does,  indeed,  honour 
this  new  and  modern  germ  of  the  church  of  Christ,  as 
being  blessed  with  the  signal  display  of  divine  grace  and 
protection,  as  being  destined  to  meliorate,  essentially,  the 
state  of  Zion  on  earth  ;  to  form  here  a  nucleus,  or  a  reno- 
vating point,  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  It  shows 
that  the  pilgrim  fathers  were  brought  hither  to  form  a 
cradle  for  the  liberty  of  conscience,  and  the  rights  of  man; 
to  be  as  a  beacon  on  a  mountain,  which  overlooks  the 
world,  and  shall  catch  the  eyes  of  distant  realms,  and 
teach  them  lessons  never  before  known.  A  branch  of  the 
church  so  signal  may  well  be  denominated  the  woman 
{the  church), — at  least  by  that  well  known  use  of  speech, 
the  synecdoche,  which  elegantly  puts  a  part  for  the  whole. 
And  when  such  a  part  is,  in  fact,  a  peculiar  imbodying  of 
the  original  essence  of  the  whole,  after  the  other  parts 
had  become  vastly  degenerated  ;  and  this  new  branch  is 
going  to  give  a  new  complexion  to  the  whole ;  it  may 
well  be  honoured  with  the  name  of  the  whole.  And  such 
has  been  the  destination  of  the  church  planted  in  this 
western  world.  Already  has  it  shed  a  benign  influence 
over  the  churches  of  Christ  in  the  old  continent,  not  ex- 
cepting the  church  in  Britain. 

6.  So  signal  an  event  as  this,  and  its  great  blessing  to 
the  world,  might  most  surely  be  expected  to  be  found  in 
'prophecy,  A  great  object  of  prophecy  is,  to  give  an  ante- 
cedent view  of  events  in,  and  contiguous  to,  the  church,  in 
which  she  has  a  deep  interest,  that  she  may  be  prepared 
to  meet  them  ;  or,  at  least,  may  see  in  them  the  faithful- 
ness of  God,  and  the  truth  of  his  word,  when  the  events 
are  fulfilled.  For  these  objects,  the  outline  of  the  most  in- 
teresting events,  from  the  commencement,  to  the  close  of 
the  Christian  era,  was  antecedently  furnished  in  the  figura- 
tive language  of  the  Revelation.  And  could  so  vast  an 
event  as  that  under  consideration  be  overlooked,  in  the 
details  of  events  in  this  book  ?  and  this,  too,  when  things 
far  less  interesting  are  found  in  this  predicted  line  of 
events  ?  It  is  incredible.  The  celebrated  President  Ed- 
wards was  confident,  that  the  church  in  America  must 
have  a  place  among  the  prophecies.  And  we  have,  in  one 
of  his  volumes,  a  labour  of  seven  pages,  to  find  something 
in  the  prophecies  clearly  alluding  to  it.     But  he,  and  all 


208  LECTURE    XV. 

Others  strangely  failed  of  fixing  their  eye  upon  our  text  as 
a  striking  prediction  of  it.  This  t\yelfth  of  the  Revela- 
tion, which  sketches  the  course  of  the  most  interesting 
events  for  the  part  of  the  Christian  era  antecedent  to  the 
Millennium,  is  the  part  of  this  book  where  the  prediction 
of  this  event  might  be  expected.  And  it  is  found  in  the 
very  part  of  this  chapter  where  it  might  have  been  ex- 
pected ; — an  event  following  and  occasioned  by  the  persecu- 
tion which  followed  the  Reformation  in  the  16th  century. 
Place  your  eye,  then, — as  I  attempted  to  do, — at  the  place 
and  time  when  the  Puritans  were  driven  to  extremities  by 
the  persecutions  of  Jesuits,  and  other  enemies  of  the 
pure  evangelical  truth ;  and  see  to  what  region  the  body 
of  the  best  of  that  people  did  in  fact  flee  from  the  face  of 
the  papal  dragon,  in  some  far  distant  realm.  You  will 
find  no  other  event  so  well  answering  to  the  figure  as 
this  ;  and  none  that  has  even  the  least  degree  of  claim 
to  it,  compared  with  this.  And  this  great  event,  then 
occurring,  does  most  fully  accord  with  the  prediction  in 
our  text. 

7.  Let  us  listen  to  some  remarks  of  celebrated  writers 
relative  to  this  flight  of  our  pilgrim  fathers  to  America, 
and  learn  how  fully  the  event  did,  in  their  opinion,  accord 
with  this  figure,  while  yet  they  had  no  idea  of  our  text  as 
alluding  to  it. 

Says  Mr.  Owen, — "Muhitudes  of  pious  peaceable 
Protestants  were  driven  by  severities  to  leave  their  native 
country,  and  seek  a  refuge  for  their  lives,  and  their  liber- 
ties in  the  worship  of  God,  in  the  wilderness,  in  the  ends 
of  the  earth."  Says  Dr.  Mather, — "  They  were  driven  to 
seek  a  place  for  the  exercise  of  the  Protestant  religion 
according  to  the  light  of  their  consciences,  in  the  deserts 
of  America.  The  church  of  the  exiles  were  driven  out 
into  the  horrible  icildcrness,  merely  for  being  well-wishers 
to  the  Reformation."  He  adds,  "  they  were  now  to  trans- 
plant themselves  into  a  horrible  wilderness.''''  "Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  carried  some  thousands  of  reformers  into 
the  retirements  of  the  American  desert,  that  he  might  give 
a  specimen  of  good  things,  to  which  he  would  have  his 
people  elsewhere  aspire  and  rise.  This  is,  at  last,  the 
spot  of  the  earth,  which  the  Lord  of  heaven  spied  out,  for 
the  seat  of  such  transactions  as  require  to  be  noted  in 
history.    Here  it  was,"  he  adds,  "  that  our  Lord  intended  a 


CHAPTER   XII.  209 

resting-place  for  the  reformed  church."  This  great  man, 
speaking  of  the  miseries  of  the  exiles,  while  they  had  been 
under  the  English  hierarchy,  says,  "  The  mountain  of  ice 
lying  then  upon  them  was  now  broken,  by  the  opening  of 
a  retreat  into  a  wilderness.''^  Thus  wrote  that  great  obser- 
ver of  divine  Providence,  Dr.  Mather,  upon  this  flight 
of  our  fathers.  He  adds,  "  198  ships  were  employed  in 
their  passing  the  perils  of  the  seas,  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  renowned  settlement  ;  and  but  one  mis- 
carried." 

An  early  writer  in  New-England  says,  the  charter 
obtained  by  the  pilgrims  here,  soon  after  their  arrival, 
seems  to  say  to  the  pious  in  old  lands,  "  Desert  your 
seats  ;  flee  your  country  !"  And  concerning  the  many 
who  did  thus,  he  says,  "  Gentlemen  of  ancient  and  most 
honourable  families,  ministers  of  the  gospel,  merchants, 
artificers,  and  husbandmen,  to  the  amount  of  some  thou- 
sands, for  twelve  years,  carried  on  the  transplantation." 
"  And  it  was  a  banishment,"  he  adds,  *'  rather  than  a  re- 
moval." 

To  men  of  education,  and  of  property,  it  was  afflictive. 
Their  hazard  was  of  an  extraordinary  nature.  And 
nothing  less  than  a  strange  and  strong  impression  from 
Heaven  could  have  produced  such  movements.  God 
seemed  to  have  served  a  summons  upon  the  spirits  of 
these  his  people  in  England,  stirring  up  thousands,  who 
had  never  seen  each  other,  with  a  most  unanimous  incli- 
nation to  leave  all  the  pleasant  accommodations  of  their 
native  land,  and  to  pass  a  terrible  ocean,  into  a  more 
terrible  desert,  for  the  pure  enjoyment  of  divine  ordi- 


*  In  Dwight'^s  Travels,  we  have  the  following,  in  his  remarks  on 
Plymouth,  and  the  pilgrims  :  "  When  I  call  to  mind  the  history 
of  their  sufferings  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  ;  when  I  remem- 
ber their  pre-eminent  patience  ;  their  unspotted  piety ;  their  im- 
moveable fortitude  ;  their  undaunted  resolution  ;  their  love  to 
each  other  ;  their  justice  and  humanity  to  the  savages;  and  their 
freedom  from  all  those  stains  which  elsewhere  have  spotted  the 
character  even  of  companions  in  affliction  ;  I  cannot  but  view  those 
illustrious  brothers,  as  claiming  the  veneration  of  all  their  posterity. 
The  institutions,  civil,  literary,  and  religious,  by  which  New-Eng- 
land is  distinguished,  here  began.  Here  the  manner  f  holding 
lands  in  free  socage,  now  universal  in  this  country,  commenced. 
Here  the  right  of  suffrage  was  imparted  to  every  citizen,  not  dis- 
S2 


210  LECTURE    XV 

8.  Let  the  language  of  the  pilgrims  themselves  be 
heard  in  testimony.  Stating  the  reasons  of  their  flight  to 
America,  they  say,  "  It  will  be  a  service  to  the  church,  of 
great  consequence,  to  carry  the  gospel  into  those  parts  of 
the  world,  and  raise  a  bulwark  against  the  kingdom  of 
Antichrist,  which  the  Jesuits  labour  to  raise  up  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  All  other  churches  in  Europe  have 
been  brought  under  desolation.  And  it  may  be  feared, 
that  the  like  judgment  is  coming  upon  us.  And  who 
knows  but  God  has  provided  America  to  be  a  refuge  for 
many,  whom  he  means  to  save  from  the  general  destruc- 
tion 1  The  whole  earih  is  the  Lord's  garden,  given  to  be 
tilled  and  improved.  Why  then  should  we  stand  starving 
here  ?  Why  should  we  sufler  whole  regions  to  lie  waste  ? 
What  can  be  a  nobler  work,  than  to  erect  and  support  a 
reformed  church  ?  If  any,  known  to  be  godly,  who  are 
rich  and  prosperous,  should  unite  with  this  reformed 
church  at  the  hazard  that  must  atten(J ;  the  example 
would  be  of  vast  benefit,  and  would  add  vigor  to  faith  and 
prayer  in  behalf  of  the  new  and  remote  plantation." 
Thus  ample  is  the  evidence,  thai  this  flight  of  the  pilgrim 
fathers  fulfilled  the  prediction  in  our  text. 

This  transportation  is  noted,  in  the  text,  as  being  on 
"  two  win^s  of  a  great  eagle.''''  God  said  to  Israel,  relative 
to  their  flight  from  Egypt  to  Canaan ;  "  I  bare  you  on 
eagles'  wings,  and  brought  you  unto  myself."  Exod.  xix.  4. 
This  proverbial  speech  might  arise  from  the  fact,  that  eagles 
are  said  to  bear  their  young  on  their  wings  just  before  they 
are  able  themselves  to  fly.  And  hence  arose  the  promise, 
Isa.  xl.  31  ;  "They  that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  !"* 


qualified  by  poverty  and  vice.  Here  was  formed  the  first  establish- 
ment of  the  local  legislature  called  town  meetings,  and  of  the  pecu- 
liar town  executive,  styled  the  select-men.  Here  the  first  paro- 
chial school  was  set  up,  and  the  system  for  communicating  to  every 
child  in  the  community  the  knowledge  of  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  Here  was  the  first  building  (in  our  country)  erected  for 
the  public  worship  of  God.  The  first  religious  assembly  of  New  Eng- 
land, was  here  gathered;  and  the  first  minister  called  and  settled  by 
the  voice  of  the  church  and  congregation.  On  these  simple  foundations 
has  since  been  erected  our  structure  of  good  order,  peace,  liberty, 
knowledge,  morals  and  religion." 

*  If  it  be  true,  as  is  attempted  to  be  shown  in  my  view  of  the  He- 
brews, that  the  address  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  in  chapter  xviii.,  is  to 


CHAPTER   XII.  211 

As  there  is  a  beauty  and  strength  in  the  figure  of  God's 
bearing  Israel  on  wings  of  eagles,  in  their  transit  from 
Egypt  to  Canaan ;  there  is  no  less  beauty  in  the  applica- 
tion of  it  to  our  pilgrim  fathers.  And  their  being  planted 
in  this  land  may  be  viewed  as  having  a  special  interest  in 
the  following  sublime  passage,  alluding  primarily  to  Israel, 
as  planted  in  Canaan  ;  but  ultimately  to  us,  in  our  pilgrim 
fathers  :  "  Thou  hast  brought  a  vine  out  of  Egypt ;  thou 
hast  cast  out  the  heathen,  and  planted  it :  thou  preparedst 
room  before  it ;  and  didst  cause  it  to  take  deep  root,  and  it 
filled  the  land.  The  hills  were  covered  with  the  sliadow 
of  it ;  and  the  boughs  thereof  were  like  the  goodly  cedars. 
She  sent  out  her  boughs  unto  the  sea ;  and  her  branches 
unto  the  rivers."  The  pious  in  our  states  may  read  this  pas- 
sage with  the  same  interest  as  did  ancient  Israel.  It  may 
be  viewed  as  having  been  no  less  really  fulfilled  in  our 
case  (as  to  the  peopling  of  this  new  world)  than  in  theirs. 

Such  is  the  evidence  that  our  first  settlement  of  New- 
England  was  in  fulfilment  of  that  second  flight  of  the 
woman,  in  the  Revelation. 

Great,  then,  is  our  debt  of  gratitude  to  God,  which  should 
be  most  deeply  felt  by  the  descendants  of  the  pilgrims. 
Such  rich  blessings  call  loudly  for  equal  improvement  and 
praise.     What  other  people  on  earth  are  under  so  great 

the  good  people  of  our  United  States — "Ho,  land  shadowing 
with  wings,  &c." — this  prophecy  may  reflect  light  on  the  "  two 
wings  of  a  great  eagle,"  in  our  text.  The  appellation  of  "  land 
shadowing  with  wings,''^  may  allude  to  the  figure  of  our  continent ; 
or  to  the  protecting  form  of  our  government,  or  both.  The  figure 
of  North  and  South  America  is  like  the  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle  ; 
as  the  map  of  them  will  show.  And  the  form  of  our  government, 
as  well  as  our  distance  from  the  tyrannies  of  old  lands,  may  well 
suggest  the  two  wings  of  a  great  eagle,  as  our  most  fit  national  em- 
llem,  or  coat-of-arms. 

The  following  sentiment  has  been  expressed  upon  the  floor  of  Con- 
gress, as  well  as  felt  in  the  civilized  world  ;  "  Our  government  was 
the  first  successful  efl^ort  among  men  to  establish  rational  liberty. 
Our  fathers  instituted,  upon  the  broad  principles  of  equity,  the  sys- 
tem of  equal  representation  ;  trial  by  jury  ;  freedom  of  speech  ; 
freedom  of  the  press  ;  and  religious  toleration.  And,  to  this  hour, 
the  system  stands  a  proud  example  to  the  world,  unpassed,  un- 
equalled. As  ours  was  the  first,  so  it  may  be  the  last  hope  of  civil 
liberty.  No  other  considerable  place  remains  on  the  globe  where  a 
second  effort  can  be  made  under  like  auspices." — {Committee  of 
Congress.) 


212  LECTURE    XV. 

obligations  to  God  ?  Surely,  then,  they  ought  to  attempt,  by 
prayers,  alms,  and  all  their  talents  and  influence,  great 
things  in  behalf  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.  Great 
things  are  to  be  accomplished  for  the  conversion  of  the 
-world.  And  great  should  be  the  zeal,  piety,  faithfulness, 
and  perseverance  of  the  seed  of  the  vi^oman  here,  to  have  a 
most  exalted  agency  in  the  great  work  of  salvation  at  this 
momentous  period.  The  people  of  God  here, — being 
exalted  to  heaven  in  privileges, — should,  in  heart,  tongue, 
and  life,  utter  this  song,  sung  in  our  context  upon  the 
Reformation  :  "  Now  is  come  salvation,  and  strength,  and 
the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  glory  of  his  Christ."  If 
this  song  befitted  the  Protestants  three  hundred  years  ago  : 
it  as  well  befits  the  present  children  of  the  pilgrims,  borne 
hither,  as  on  the  wings  of  a  great  eagle,  by  divine  grace. 
The  church  in  our  nation  is  indeed  as  a  city  set  on  ahill ; — 
a  standard  high  upon  a  mountain,  that  overlooks  the  world. 
It  is  a  light  to  shine  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  May  its  rays 
fall  propitious,  not  only  upon  the  remote  heathen  world, 
but  upon  the  remnant  of  the  natives  of  our  continent ;  and 
upon  the  ignorant  and  wretched  among  ourselves.  May 
it  thus  prove  a  fact,  that  we  are  destined  to  hold  a  high 
rank  among  the  means  of  converting  the  world.  Let  this 
be  our  motto,  "  Arise,  and  build ;  and  the  Lord  be  with 
thee."  May  our  agency  bear  as  conspicuous  a  part  in  the 
introduction  of  the  Millennium,  as  our  origin  (in  the  text) 
has  done  among  the  wonder  of  the  last  days. 


LECTURE  XVI. 


REVELATION    XII. 


Ver.  15.  And  the  serpent  cast  out  of  his  mouth 
water  as  a  flood  after  the  woman,  that  he  might 
cause  her  to  be  carried  away  of  the  flood. 

When  the  dragon  saw  that  the  woman  was  thus  safely 
conveyed  to  her  new  and  distant  retreat,  he  with  new 
rage  commenced  furious  efforts  of  opposition.  He  no 
doubt  clearly  perceived  that  the  influence  of  her  civil  and 
religious  institutions  would  not  only  fill  her  own  vast 
region,  but  also  would  endanger  his  kingdom  of  popery 
and  despotism  in  old  lands,  and  even  his  dominion  of  the 
vast  pagan  world.  Something,  the  devil  now  saw,  must 
be  done  to  prevent  this  ;  or  all  was  lost. 

There  was  now  therefore  produced  in  his  infernal 
courts  that  masterpiece  of  infidelity,  first  known  to  the 
world  under  the  name  of  Illuminism.  This  was  an  im- 
provement made  upon  the  code  of  the  Jesuits,  which  had 
been  the  vast  annoyance  of  the  Protestant  cause,  till  the 
Jesuits  were  banished  from  the  courts  of  Europe,  as  a 
murderous  band.  This  new  system  of  boasted  philosophy 
was  conceived  and  brought  into  operation  by  Voltaire,  the 
noted  infidel  philosopher  of  France,  who  combined  in  this 
impious  design  a  group  of  infidel  philosophers,  and  a  num- 
ber of  crowned  heads  in  Europe.  His  first  and  sworn  ob- 
ject was  the  destruction  of  the  Christian  religion.  His 
scheme,  after  it  was  conceived  and  brought  into  opera- 
tion, was  improved  and  brought  to  a  kind  of  perfection  by 
the  celebrated  Wheishaupt,  of  Germany,  as  a  system  of 
light.  And  it  was  propagated  and  carried  into  effect  in 
those  despotic  countries  under  the  cover  of  speculative 
masonry. 

This  new  system  was  by  far  the  most  subde,  deep,  and 
efficient  of  any  which  ever  was  devised  among  men ;  and  it 


214  LECTURE    XVI. 

was  propagated  over  the  world  by  floods  of  secret  agents, 
called   propagandists  (propagators),  wlio  were  furnished 
with  ample  funds  for  their  purpose.     Their  dependence 
was  on  poisoning  the  sentiments  of  mankind,  obtaining 
the  management  of  the  means  of  education,  of  governments, 
and  of  armies,  to  promote  their  designs.     They  managed 
the  revolution  in  France,  in   1789,   and  their  numerous 
armies  took  the  field.     A  military  empire  soon  arose,  and 
floods  of  terror  poured  forth  with  a  velocity  which  seemed 
like  a  flood  indeed  from  the  mouth  of  the  infernal  dragon. 
It  was  designed  and  calculated  to  revolutionize  the  world, 
overturning  all  true  religion  and  morality,  and  all  virtuous 
civil  government.     Its  professed  object  was  to  render  the 
human  race  happy,  by  freeing  them  from   all   restraints 
upon  their  lusts  and  passions.     But  the  real  object  of  this 
horrid  scheme  was  cautiously  concealed  from  their  candi- 
dates, and  men  in  the  lower  orders  of  their  system  ;  and 
it  was  gradually  revealed  to  candidates  for  the  higher  de- 
grees, as  it  was  found  they  could  endure  it  without  alarm. 
This  execrable  scheme  of  Voltaire,  under  the  express 
design  of  showing  that  "  one  man   could    overturn  the 
Christian  religion,"  took  eff'ect  in  old  Catholic  countries 
like  fire  touched  to  a  trail  of  powder.     Their  noted  watch- 
words   were,    "  Crush  the    wretch  !" — meaning  Christ : 
"  Strike  deep,  but  hide  the  hand  !"    "  The  world  must  be 
bound  by  invisible  hands  !"     The  development  of  this  sys- 
tem is  to  be  found  in  the  following  works :  viz.  "  Proofs 
of  a  Conspiracy,"  by  Doctor  John  Robison,  Professor  of 
Natural  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  ;  in 
the  Abbe  Barruel's  "  Memoirs  of  the  French  Revolution  ;" 
and  in    Doctor  Payson's  "  Modern  Antichrist."     These 
horrid  floods  Satan  found   means  to  roll  over  Christen- 
dom.    Lodges  of  illuminees  were  planted  throughout  the 
civilized  world  ;  grasping  and  polluting  the  means  of  edu- 
cation, and  labouring  by  sly  intrigue  to  fill  with  men  of 
their  own  order,  all  places  of  trust  and  of  interest.     In 
these    movements  of  the  dragon,  the  United   States   of 
America  were  by  no  means  overlooked.     So   fair  a  seat 
of  Zion  was  the   first  object  of  Satan,  though  his  plot 
commenced  in  old  lands.     This   is  learned  in  our  text 
and  context,  where  the  woman,  in  her  distant  retreat  is 
represented  as  the  great  object  of  Satan's  rage.     This 
scheme  was  formed  in  the  hot-bed  of  papal  corruption  ;  or 


CHAPTER  xn.  215 

in  the  infidelity  resulting  from  it.     The  flood  must  there 
be  first  collected,  and  thence  poured  forth  over  Europe, 
and  over  the  Atlantic.     As  masonry  had  been  its  success- 
ful cover  in  old  lands  ;  it  was  still  depended  on  as  its  suc- 
cessful vehicle  through  the  world.  This  system  of  wicked- 
ness slyly  planted  itself  by  the  side  of  speculative  ma- 
sonry, with  a  view  to  lead  its  members,  through  degrees 
before  unknown,  under  the  notion  of  finding  exalted  wis- 
dom.    Masons  of  high  repute  saw  and  deplored  the  fact, 
that  their  order  was  capable  of  such  a  horrid  use ;  and  they 
sounded  the  alarm  and  fled  from  it,  as  we  find  in  the  afore- 
named European  authors.     Lodges  of  illuminees    were 
early  planted  in  our  states,  as  has  appeared  from  ample 
evidence,  though  they  were  cautious  to  conceal  the  name. 
President  D wight,  in   1798,   wrote  thus:     "  Illuminism 
exists  in  our  country.     And  the  impious  mockery  of  the 
sacrament  described  by  Robison  has  been  acted  here." 
He  again  says,  speaking  of  the  rise  of  this  order ;  "  Un- 
der these  circumstances  were  founded  the  societies  of  Illu- 
minism.    They  of  course  spread  with  a  rapidity,  which 
nothing   but   fact    could  have    induced    any  sober   mind 
to  believe.     Before  the  year  178G,  they  were  established 
in  great  numbers,  through   Germany,  Sweden,  Prussia, 
Poland,    Austria,    Holland,   France,    Switzerland,   Italy, 
England,  Scotland,  and  America.''''     In   all  these  places 
(adds  Dr.  Dwight)  was  taught  the  grand  sweeping  prin- 
ciple of  corruption,  "  that  the  goodness  of  the  end  sanctifies 
the  means."     This  writer  said  he  received  his   informa- 
tion from  a  principal  officer  of  the  American  masons.     A 
letter  was  intercepted  from  a  lodge  of  illuminism  in  Vir- 
ginia, to  a  lodge  of  the  same  order  in  New-York,  in  which 
•were  emblems  of  carnage  and  death,  and  things  unknown 
to  the  grades  of  masonry  which  had  previously  existed  in 
this  country.     This  letter  was  from  the  lodge  Wisdom, 
which  was  a  branch  of  the  Grand  Orient  of  Paris,  and  was 
the  2260th  descendant  from  that  parent  stock.     Tliis  great 
number  then  of  lodges  of  their  order,  must  have  been 
planted  at  least  in  the  twelve  afore-noted  different  nations. 
And  in  this  letter  it  appeared  that  there  were  many  lodges 
of  this   order  in  our  United  States.     A  mason  of  high 
standing  at  the  south,  in   a  letter  to  President  Dwight, 
dated  March  3d,  1800,  says,  "The  lodge  in  Portsmouth, 
to  which  you  allude,  called  the  French  lodge,  was  con- 


216  LECTURE    XVI. 

sidered  by  me  as  under  the  modern  term  of  masonry" 
(illuminism).     In    another  letter  to   the  same,  he  says, 
"  That  you  had  good  grounds  to  suspect  the  designs  of 
the  lodge  at  Portsmouth  (Vir.)  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt. 
Their  work  was  to   effect  the  plans  of  France  in  this 
country."     A  member  of  that  lodge  was  heard  to  boast 
that  he  belonged  to  a  lodge  in    Europe   in  which   the 
French  revolution  of  1789  was  planned.     A  gentleman  of 
the  first  respectability,  who  had  been  grand  master  of  all 
the  lodges  in  the  state  in  which  he  lived,  informed  me, 
upon  reading  my  Dissertation  on   the  Prophecies,  that 
while  he  was  thus  a  grand  master,  a  bundle  of  papers 
from  the  eastern  continent  came  by   a  natural   mistake 
into  his  hands.     That  in  it  were  masonic  emblems,  ma- 
sonic language,  and  things  apparently  of  great  design,  but 
all  perfectly  above  his  comprehension.     This  was  before 
he   had   heard   of  illuminism.     He  knew  not    what   to 
make   of  it ;    and   said,  when  Illuminism  was   disclosed 
by   Robison    and    Barruel,    he    was    fully    prepared   to 
believe  the    account.      And  his  influence   with   his  ma- 
sonic brethren  in  the  state  where  he  lived  was  so  great, 
that  when  they  began  to  express   resentment  at  the  dis- 
closures of  these  things,  he  hushed  them  to  peace, — telling 
them  the  disclosures  were  true,  and  they  ought  to  know 
it.     In  a  printed  oration  delivered  before  the  Grand  Royal 
Arch  Chapter  of  New- York,  Feb.  1801,  by  their  grand 
chaplain,  Rev.  John  Earnst,  is  the  following  warning:  "The 
deep  designs  of  masons,  called  the  illuminati,  who  have 
almost  inundated  Europe,  and  are  fast  gaining  ground  in 
America,   have   clearly   demonstrated   the    abuse    which 
mitiled   masonic  lodges  have  met  with,  and   how  they, 
when  not  guarded,  can  be  revolutionized   and  moulded  at 
pleasure."     Happy,  had  such   warning  been  taken !     A 
man  of  name,  who  with  his  wife  was  a  professor  of  reli- 
gion, informed  me  that  their  son  had  occasion  to  reside 
some   years   in   one   of  the   middle  states,  and  he   re- 
turned a  gross  infidel.     He  told  them  he  had   learned 
this  in  a  society  there  instituted  from  France  ;  and  as- 
sured them  that  such  societies  abounded  in  our  nation,  and 
soon  a  gospel  minister  would  not  be  supported.     If  any 
of  them  existed,  they  would  be  objects  of  scorn.     The 
Christian  religion  (he  said)  was  all  an  imposition,  and  soon 
would  be  no  more.     Gertanner,  in  his  Memoirs  of  the 


CHAPTER   XII.  217 

French  Revolution,  said,  that  the  propagators  of  the  French 
masonry  were  (in  1791)  fifty  thousand;  and  that  their 
funds  were  vast ;  at  that  time,  six  millions  of  dollars. 
These  men  were  sent  over  the  civilized  world,  and  liber- 
ally dispersed  in  America.  It  was  a  maxim  in  their 
code,  that  "  it  is  better  to  defer  fifty  years^  than  to  fail  of 
success  by  too  much  precipitancy."  Such  notices  should 
not  be  misimproved  by  the  friends  of  religion  and  of 
liberty.  Robespierre  declared  that  revolutionary  designs 
were  the  object  of  the  diplomatic  mission  of  Genet  to  this 
country.  His  haste  and  imprudence  to  effect  these  de- 
signs, soon,  by  the  faithfulness  of  Washington,  occasioned 
his  recall. 

He  however  took  up  his  residence  in  this  country,  and 
no  doubt  learned  that  greater  caution  was  needful  in  this 
nation.  In  an  intercepted  letter  of  the  noted  French 
Fauchet,  this  object  of  French  Illuminism  in  our  land  was 
fully  exposed.  The  insurrection  in  the  west  of  Pennsyl- 
vania was  occasioned  by  it ;  to  suppress  which,  required  an 
army  of  15,000  men,  and  a  million  of  dollars, — precious 
fruits  of  the  infidel  system  planted  in  our  country.  Even 
Washington  himself  was  denounced  by  this  hateful  foreign 
influence,  and  was  declared  to  be  an  enemy  to  his  coun- 
try !  That  best  of  men,  noticing  this  base  treatment  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  said,  that  their  abuse  of  him  was  in 
"  such  indecent  terms  as  could  scarcely  be  applied  to  a 
Nero,  or  to  a  notorious  defaulter."  In  another  letter 
to  a  friend,  he  said,  "  They  (the  French)  have  been 
deceived  in  their  calculations  on  the  powerful  support 
from  their  party  here ;  though  it  is  doubtful  still,  whe- 
ther that  party,  which  has  been  a  curse  to  this  country, 
may  not  be  able  to  continue  their  delusions."  He  said 
again,  in  a  letter,  "  That  those  self-created  societies 
which  have  spread  themselves  over  this  nation,  have  been 
labouring  incessantly  to  sow  the  seeds  of  distrust,  jea- 
lousy, and  discontent, — hoping  thereby  to  eflfect  some  revo- 
lution in  our  government, — is  not  unknown  to  you.  That 
they  have  been  the  fomenters  of  the  western  insurrection, 
admits  of  no  doubt."  When  this  father  of  his  country  re- 
tired from  the  presidential  chair,  he  was  most  shamefully 
denounced  and  insulted  by  this  same  hateful  influence  ; 
and  the  friends  of  the  nation  were  called  upon  to  keep  a 
jubilee  on  the  occasion.  The  language  thus  boldly  used 
T 


218  LECTURE    XVI. 

against  this  best  of  men  and  father  of  his  country,  was 
abusive,  cruel,  and  false.  No  wonder,  then,  that  that 
great  and  good  man,  in  his  farewell  address,  warned  his 
beloved  nation  as  follows  :  "  Beware  of  all  secret  combi- 
nations, under  whatever  plausible  character." 

Such  were  the  floods  which  flowed  from  the  mouth  of 
the  infernal  serpent,  and  which  rolled  even  over  the  Atlan- 
tic to  America.  On  the  old  continent,  these  floods  were 
vastly  terrible,  as  is  shown  in  lectures  on  chapter  xvii.,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred.  The  floods  of  horror  there 
rolled  mountains  high ;  rolling  in  seas  of  blood,  and  revo- 
lutions ;  rolling  for  a  quarter  of  a  century;  and  plunging 
ten  millions  of  the  human  race,  as  has  been  calculated 
from  high  intelligence,*  in  premature  death.  The  French 
armies,  which  swelled  these  floods,  were  vast,  most  suc- 
cessful, and  terrible.  Zion  trembled  for  her  ark,  and  said, 
*'  These  be  the  days  of  vengeance  !"  An  army  of  400,000 
men  (as  has  been  shown)  were  finally  seen  moving,  with 
the  most  powerful  preparations,  into  the  north  of  Europe, 
with  a  design  to  sweep  away  the  last  barriers  against  a 
universal  military  despotism.  But  this  was  overruled  to 
bring  things  to  a  kind  of  crisis  for  the  time  then  present,  in 
favour  of  Zion,  and  of  liberty. 

Ver.  16.  And  the  earth  helped  the  woman,  and 
the  earth  opened  her  mouth,  and  swallowed  up  the 
flood  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his  mouth. 

The  church's  necessity  is  God's  opportunity.  When 
the  floods  of  dangers  seem  about  to  overwhelm  the  cause 
of  Zion,  God  interposes,  like  the  earth's  opening  her  mouth, 
and  burying  every  enemy ;  as  in  the  case  of  Korah  and 
his  company.  When  they  seemed  about  to  destroy  all 
the  order  and  peace  of  Israel,  the  earth  under  their  feet 
clave  asunder ;  and  they  went  down  alive  into  the  pit ; 
which  closed  again  upon  them.  This  was  an  emblem  of 
God's  protection  of  his  cause.  And  though  but  one  exactly 
such  a  case  ever  occurred,  yet  multitudes  of  events  have 
occurred  in  a  measure  similar, — like  the  destruction  of 
Haman,  which  set  at  liberty  the  Jews  from  the  eifects  of 
his  vile  decree.  God  often  causes  some  providential  event 
to  occur,  to  confound  the  enemies  of  Zion,  and  to  protect 

*  President  Dwight. 


CHAPTER    XII.  219 

his  cause ;  as  in  the  case  of  the  Egyptians  plunged  in  the 
Red  Sea ;  while  Israel  moved  in  safety  through  the  deep. 
In  this  point  of  light,  our  text  assures  that  the  church  shall 
be  safe.  And  though  her  enemies  rise  and  roar  like  a  flood ; 
Christ  sits  on  the  whirlwind,  and  directs  the  storm.  And 
heaven's  high  arches  scorn  the  swelling  ocean.  The  foe 
is  confounded ;  and  Christians  rejoice.  When  creature 
help  failsJGod's  arm  brings  salvation.  So  it  has  been 
from  the  beginning ;  and  so  it  will  be  to  the  end  of  time. 
In  this  general  sense,  our  text  has  had  a  thousand  fulfil- 
ments. But  it  was  designed  for  one,  and  only  one,  great 
chronological  fulfilment ;  a  great  fulfilment  in  its  order  of 
events.  For  this  we  must  inquire.  The  order  of  events, 
already  noted  in  comments  upon  this  chapter,  shows  us 
where  to  look  for  it.  The  great  emperor  of  the  age  (it 
was  generally  said)  exulted,  that  when  several  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  his  universal  empire  were  removed,  "  he  would 
henceforth  trample  on  all  the  rights  of  neutrality  !"  His 
army,  the  best  appointed  possible,  of  400,000  men,  was 
put  in  motion ;  himself  at  their  head,  to  remove  these 
remaining  obstacles.  He  would  first  move  into  the  north, 
and  take  up  by  the  roots  the  empire  of  Russia.  England 
then  would  easily  fall.  And  America  would  of  course  lie 
prostrate  at  his  feet.  And  the  dragon  imagined  that  this 
would  accomplish  the  designs  of  the  great  infidel  system. 
But  the  rod  of  iron,  formed  for  judgment  on  the  Roman 
earth,  was  now  overleaping  the  bounds  of  its  providential 
commission :  and  his  plans  were  lost.  That  vial  of  divine 
wrath  on  the  seat  of  the  papal  beast,  and  filling  it  with 
darkness,  was  now  going  to  draw  towards  its  close.  The 
army  of  the  north  was  accordingly  annihilated,  and  swal- 
lowed up  as  floods  indeed ;  as  was  shown  in  particulars  of 
the  event  in  Lecture  x.,  which  see.  The  accomplish- 
ment of  the  judgment  in  our  text  may  well  remind  us  of 
that  of  Korah  and  his  company,  when  the  earth  under 
their  feet  began  to  part  asunder.  And  the  language  of 
our  text,  we  may  conceive,  was  borrowed  from  the  catas- 
trophe of  those  ancient  enemies  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness. 
It  is,  accordingly,  predicted  of  the  infidels  of  the  last  days, 
that  they  shall  "  perish  in  the  gainsaying  of  Korah."  Any 
thing  that  should  providentially  destroy  those  efforts  of  the 
kingdom  of  darkness,  would  amount  to  an  accomplish- 
ment of  our  text.     The  figure  alludes  to  all  that  actually 


220  LECTURE    XVI. 

did  confound  those  efforts  of  the  enemies  of  the  church. 
The  French  army  fled,  and  fell  by  the  way, — as  has  been 
shown.  Their  bodies  were  indeed  literally  mingled  with 
the  Russian  earth,  as  though  swallowed  up  in  it.  The 
horrors  of  that  retreat  exceed  every  thing  else  found  in 
history,  if  we  except  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The 
emperor  escaped ;  and,  with  only  one  man  accompanying 
him,  reached  his  capital.  His  vast  army,  by  tliftse  terrors, 
and  the  scenes  at  the  river  Berezina,  were  literally 
destroyed.  New  armies  were  raised  by  this  emperor ;  and 
subsequent  tremendous  battles  were  fought ;  in  which  the 
French,  from  time  to  time,  were  vanquished,  till  the  battle 
at  Waterloo  concluded  the  empire  of  Bonaparte.  The  last 
swelling  of  the  floods  of  the  dragon  on  the  Roman  earth, 
was  here  swallowed  up.  The  confederation  of  the  Rhine 
had  been  broken;  and  the  remainder  of  its  flood  here  sunk. 
A  striking  exposition  thus  appears,  as  given  to  the  feet, 
and  toes  of  the  great  Roman  image — being  "part  of  iron, 
and  part  of  clay  ;  partly  strong,  and  partly  broken ;"  and 
the  parts  not  cleaving  to  each  other.  The  long  predicted 
coalition,  like  a  whirlwind  from  the  north,  had  prostrated 
that  dynasty.  See  Dan.  xi.  40.  The  earth  opened  her 
mouth,  indeed  !  Earthly  or  national  motives  had  induced 
this  coalition  of  the  powers  of  Europe  to  combine  in  self- 
defence  for  the  swallowing  up  of  these  floods  of  the  dra- 
gon. One  strong  pillar,  on  which  hung  the  confident 
hopes  of  the  infidels  of  the  age,  crumbled,  and  was  lost. 

The  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit,  with  this  new  wound 
in  his  head,  now  fell  (for  a  time  at  least)  into  his  charac- 
teristic non-existence.  For  he  is  "  the  beast  that  was,  and 
is  not,  and  yet  is." 

Zion  had  been  marked  out  for  a  prey.  Her  enemies 
had  predicted  her  ruin,  and  appearances  seemed  to  favour 
it.  But  a  cloud  by  day,  and  a  fire  by  night,  moved  be- 
tween Israel  and  the  Egyptians,  while  passing  the  sea. 
This  cloud  flung  light  upon  the  clmrch,  and  darkness  upon 
infidels.  "The  Lord  thundered;  the  Highest  gave  his 
voice;  hailstones  and  coals  of  fire.  His  lightning  light- 
ened the  world  ;  the  earth  trembled  and  shook."  The 
abominations  of  that  system  of  infidelity  had  been  much 
unfolded,  and  its  first  and  general  efforts  confounded.  lis 
workmen  were  now  forced  to  descend  to  deeper  caverns, 
and  to  operate  with  greater  caution.     And  to  this  they  no 


CHAPTER    XII.  221 

doubt,  betook  themselves  with  great  vigour.  The  friends 
of  Zion  rejoiced  to  find  the  snares  of  death  thus  far  broken, 
and  a  sudden  and  wonderful  reverse  of  things  blessing 
the  church,  and  the  world.  This  lit  up  a  smile  on  faces 
long  petrified  with  horror.  The  sun  of  general  peace 
broke  through  the  cloud,  smiled  on  the  nations  hid  long 
from  its  rays.  And  many  fondly  hoped  the  sun  of  the  Mil- 
lennial kingdom  had  risen.  Here  their  fond  hopes  were 
clearly  premature.  But  wonders  of  salvation  had  indeed 
been  wrought. 

Ver.  17.  And  the  dragon  was  wroth  with  the 
woman,  and  went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of 
her  seed,  which  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
have  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ. 

As  this  alludes  to  things  future,  time  will  best  unfold 
them.  Yet,  as  the  text  is  given  for  warning,  we  should 
attempt  to  derive  warning  from  it.  Satan  is  ever  on  the 
alert ;  that  when  one  plan  fails,  he  may  give  a  new  form 
to  it,  or  invent  another.  When  ancient  paganism  in  the 
Roman  empire  ceased,  and  the  government  Ijecame  Chris- 
tian ;  the  devil  got  up  first  his  Arian  heresy,  and  then  his 
papal  throne.  By  the  formation  here  of  an  image  to  the 
pagan  beast,  in  the  false  religion  of  popery  under  the 
Christian  name,  Satan  more  than  restored  his  beloved  pa- 
ganism. And  when  he  was  ejected  from  his  papal  heaven 
by  the  Reformation,  he  soon  brought  forward  his  code  of 
the  Jesuits,  and  hence  raised  his  new  persecutions,  as  has 
been  noted.  When  the  woman  fled,  as  on  her  eagle's 
wings  ;  Satan  brought  forward  his  system  of  illuminism, 
as  has  been  shown.  With  this  he  was  going,  if  possible, 
to  destroy  the  cause  of  Christ  from  the  earth.  And  when 
these  floods  are  thus  far  swallowed  up,  may  we  not  be- 
lieve new  and  mighty  efforts  will  be  made  ?  What,  then, 
is  the  sense  of  this  warning  in  the  text  ?  The  flight  of 
the  woman,  to  a  distant  retreat  from  the  face  of  the  dra- 
gon on  the  papal  earth,  had  much  enraged  him.  And  this 
rage  is  heightened  by  the  failing  of  his  floods  thus  far. 
Whither  now  does  Satan  betake  himself,  to  make  war 
with  the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed  ?  Does  not 
the  text  give  at  least  some  intimation  ?  He  goes  now 
away  from  the  old  Roman  earth,  probably  to  the 
T2 


222  LECTURE    XVI. 

place  to  which  the  woman  fled.     And  is  not  this  a  most 
natural  event  1     Is  it  not  the  church  here,  of  which  he  is 
the  most  jealous  ?     Why  should  he  not,  then,  next  go 
where  she  is  ?     Three  marks  are  given  in  the  text,  of  the 
character  of  the  people,  with  whom  he  goes  to  make  this 
new   war.     1 .  "  The   remnant  of   the    woman's   seed." 
This  is  the  pious  part  of  the  descendants  of  the  woman, 
in  the  region  whither  she  fled.     A  part  of  them  are  hos- 
tile to  Christ,  but  a  remnant  are  indeed  his  friends.     2. 
"  Who  keep  the  commands  of  God."     They  maintain  a 
signal  degree  of  evangehcal  purity,  and  holy  obedience. 
No  other  branch  of  the  Christian  church  is  equal  in  this 
to  the  pious  remnant  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  in  our 
United  States.     3.  "And  have  tlie  testimony   of  Jesus 
Christ."     In  some  special  way,  this  remnant  of  the  wo- 
man's  seed  have  the  tokens  of  the  presence,  gracious 
power,  and  approbation  of  Christ.     And  is  not  this  a  fact 
■with  the  remnant  of  the  descendants  of  the  pilgrims  here, 
who   are  indeed   pious  1     Does   the   testimony  of  Christ 
equally  attend   any  other  part  of  the   Christian  world  ? 
This  is  the  part  of  Zion  selected  of  God  for  the  showers 
of  his    grace.      Christ  here   peculiarly   seems   to   say, 
"  Awake,  O  north  wind  ;  and  come,  thou  south  ;  blow  upon 
my  garden,  that  its  spices  may  flow  forth."     This  is  no- 
ticed by  the  Christian  world  ;  and  inquiries  have  been  pub- 
licly made   across  the  Atlantic,  why  it  is  thus.     And  this 
fact  not  only  identifies  the  American  church  with  the 
seed  of  the  woman  in  our  text,  but  it  afibrds  an  additional 
reason  why  Satan  should  now  turn  his  first  attention  to 
this  region,  as  the  principal  field  of  his  operations. 

But  what  mode  of  warfare  would  Satan  be  likely  here 
to  instigate  1  It  is  manifest,  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
his  economy  long  has  been  to  labour  to  repair  broken  sys- 
tems., and  under  some  new  or  specious  pretence  to  render 
them  more  eflTicient  than  ever.  His  old  systems,  then,  of 
popery,  of  French  masonry,  and  of  gross  licentiousness,  he 
may  be  expected  to  labour  to  bring,  here,  into  more  eff'ectual 
operation.  It  is  at  a  time  not  far  from  the  present,  that 
we  read  of  the  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs,  coming  from 
the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  of  the  beast,  and  of  the  false 
prophet ;  spirits  of  devils,  working  wonders,  and  going 
forth  unto  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  and  of  all  the  world, 
to  gather  them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Al- 


CHAPTER    XII.  223 

mighty  !  Rev.  xvi.  13,  14.     These  denote  three  powerful 
kindred  influences,  to  pervade  the  world,  equally  under 
the   agency  of  Satan.     "  For  they  are  spirits  of  devils  1" 
That  from  the  mouth  of  the  dragon  (the  devil),  means  a 
general   spirit  of  licentiousness,   either  in  sentiment  or 
practice,  or  both — any  or  all  kinds   of  blasphemy,   and 
abomination.     That  from  the  mouth  of  the  beast  is  the 
scheme  of  infidelity  first  known  as  illuminism ;  which  is 
the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit,  full  of  the  names  of 
blasphemy.     And  the  spirit  from  the  mouth  of  the  false 
prophet,  is  popery  in  its  falling  state  in  Europe,  since  the 
afore-noted   revolution   in  France.      Agents   and  subtle 
efforts  from  these  three  sources^  the  devil  will  seek  to  per- 
fect, and  to  bring  into  operation.     This  he  may  be  ex- 
pected to  do  in  America ;  and  thence  to  give  a  new  im- 
pulse to  them  over  the  world.     The  church  in  our  states 
has  much  to  fear  from  these  three  systems  of  infidelity. 
They  may  be  called  the  deviVs  trio., — his  three  in  one. 
If  the  different  parts  mean  not  so;  their  master  means  so. 
The  parts  may  fall  out  among  themselves  ;  but  their  great 
agent   pushes    them   to  one   essential  result.     Different 
divisions  of  an  army  may  not  understand  the  designed  unity 
of  their  operations ;  but  the  sagacious  general  understands 
it ;  and  he  designs  to  push  every  movement  to  it.     So 
does  Satan  in  his  threefold  agencies.     And  these  in  our 
States  will  be  powerful  and  mischievous.     One  of  these 
may  be  more  visible  than  the  other :  but  the  other  may  be 
more  deep  and  powerful  than  this.     Two  of  these  sys- 
tems maybe  called  systematic  operations;  the   third,  a 
mere  filling  up  of  mischief  from  a  mixed  multitude,  who 
will  work  into  no  system,  but  will  be  immensely  wicked 
each  in  his  own  way.     From  these  three,  the  pious  rem- 
nant of  the  woman's  seed,  in  this  land,  have  much  to  fear. 
The  system  of  French  and  German  infidelity,  in  secret 
societies,  has  been  planted  deep  in  our  land  ;  as  has  been 
clearly  shown.     And  it  was  not  thus  planted  here  for 
nothing.     It  was  with  the  same  design  with  which  it  was 
planted  in  France  before  the  revolution  there.     This  sys- 
tem has  never  died  a  natural  death,  and  never  will.     It  is 
only  the   fire   of    the   battle   of  the    great   day  of  God, 
that   is  to  blot  it  from   under   heaven.     See   Dan.    vii. 
11 ;  Rev.  xix.  19,  20.     It  has  doubtless  been  most  active 
in  dark  recesses,  from  the  time  of  its  introduction  into  our 


224  LECTURE    XVI. 

States  ;  which  was  before  the  year  1786.  It  was  not 
formed  for  inactivity  or  amusement  in  Europe,  nor  is  it  so 
in  America.  In  Europe  their  real  designs  were  perfectly 
curtained  from  their  candidates  in  the  lower  degrees  of  ma- 
sonry. While  they  were  amused  with  various  things  ; 
they  were  as  ignorant  of  the  real  designs  of  their  higher 
orders,  as  a  child  unborn.  And  when  the  designs  of  their 
leaders  burst  out  in  bloody  operations  ;  honest  members 
of  the  lower  degrees  fled.  One  of  them,  in  an  address 
to  his  masonic  brethren,  said,  "  Brethren  and  companions, 
give  free  vent  to  your  sorrow.  The  days  of  innocent 
equality  are  gone  by.  However  holy  our  mysteries  may 
have  been;  the  lodges  are  now  profaned.  Let  your  tears 
flow.  Attired  in  your  mourning  robes,  attend ;  and  let  us 
seal  up  the  gates  of  our  temples ;  for  the  profane  have 
found  means  to  penetrate  into  them.  They  have  con- 
verted them  into  retreats  for  their  impiety  ;  and  into  dens 
of  conspirators.  Within  the  sacred  walls,  they  have 
planned  their  horrid  deeds,  and  the  ruin  of  nations.  Let 
lis  weep  over  their  legions,  whom  they  have  seduced. 
Lodges  that  may  serve  as  hiding-places  for  conspirators, 
must  for  ever  remain  shut  to  us,  and  to  every  good  citi- 
zen."* The  celebrated  Professor  Robison  of  Edinburgh, 
who  had  been  a  first-rate  mason,  sounded  the  same  alarm. 
He  renounced  the  order,  and  advised  all  his  brethren  in 
the  masonic  world  to  do  the  same. 

We  have  here  one  deep  source  of  the  danger  attending 
the  seed  of  the  woman,  in  these  states.  May  the  Christians 
of  our  land  awake  to  their  dangers,  and  their  duties. 
May  the  warning  voice  of  Heaven  arrest  their  hearts ; 
such  as  the  following — "  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,  because 
your  adversary,  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  goeth  about, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  "  The  devil  is  come 
unto  you,  having  great  wrath,  because  he  knoweth  he 
hath  but  a  short  time."  "  Whom  resist  steadfastly  in  the 
faith."  "  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  shall  flee  from  you." 
Christ  says,  of  these  very  days,  "  Watch  !" — "  Watch  ye 
and  pray  always ;  that  ye  may  be  accounted  worthy  to 
escape  those  things  which  shall  come  to  pass,  and  to 
stand  before  the  Son  of  man."  "  Come,  my  people,  en- 
ter into  thy  chambers."     "  Seek  the  Lord,  all  ye  meek  of 

*  Barruel's  Memoirs. 


CHAPTER    XIII.  225 

the  earth.  Seek  righteousness  ;  seek  meekness  ;  it  may- 
be ye  may  be  hid  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's  anger."  "  Come 
out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her 
sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues." 


LECTURE    XVII. 


REVELATION    XIII, 

Ver.  1.  And  I  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and 
saw  a  beast  rise  up  out  of  the  sea,  having  seven 
heads  and  ten  horns,  and  upon  his  horns  ten  crovi^ns, 
and  upon  his  heads  the  name  of  blasphemy. 

2.  And  the  beast  which  I  saw  was  like  unto  a 
leopard,  and  his  feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  and 
his  mouth  as  the  mouth  of  a  lion :  and  the  dragon 
gave  him  his  power,  and  his  seat,  and  great  au- 
thority. 

3.  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads  as  it  were  wounded 
to  death ;  and  his  deadly  wound  was  healed :  and 
all  the  world  wondered  after  the  beast. 

4.  And  they  worshipped  the  dragon  which  gave 
power  unto  the  beast :  and  they  worshipped  the 
beast,  saying,  Who  is  like  unto  the  beast?  who  is 
able  to  make  war  with  him  ? 

5.  And  there  was  given  unto  him  a  mouth  speak- 
ing great  things  and  blasphemies ;  and  power  was 
given  unto  him  to  continue  forty  and  two  months. 

6.  And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  blasphemy  against 
God,  to  blaspheme  his  name,  and  his  tabernacle,  and 
them  that  dwell  in  heaven. 

7.  And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with 
the  saints,  and  to  overcome  them :  and  power  was 
given  him  over  all  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations. 

8.  And  all  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship 


226  LECTURE   XVII. 

him,  whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of 
life  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

9.  If  any  man  have  an  ear,  let  him  hear. 

10.  He  that  leadeth  into  captivity  shall  go  into 
captivity :  he  that  killeth  with  the  sword  must  be 
killed  with  the  sword.  Here  is  the  patience  and  the 
faith  of  the  saints. 

Having  attended,  in  several  preceding  lectures,  to  a  de- 
scription of  the  church,  and  of  her  grand  adversary,  the 
devil,  and  to  some  outlines  of  events  between  them,  for 
about  two  thousand  years  ;  we  now  come,  in  this  thir- 
teenth chapter,  to  contemplate  more  particularly  two  great 
instruments  of  her  annoyance,  under  the  figure  of  two 
beasts — the  secular  Roman  beast,  and   the  papal  beast. 

The  events  of  this  chapter  are  synchronical  with  those 
of  the  chapter  preceding,  and  comprise  the  period  from 
the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  to  near  the  Mil- 
lennium. We  have  here  first  the  secular  Roman  beast, 
vi^hich  Daniel  beheld  rising  out  of  the  sea ;  and  which  is 
never  to  be  confounded  with  the  papal  beast,  which  is  in 
this  chapter  distinctly  given. 

In  the  language  of  prophecy,  a  notable  power  hostile  to 
the  church  is  represented  by  some  great  ferocious  beast. 
And  the  properties  of  that  power  are  described  by  proper- 
ties of  that  beast,  natural  or  ideal.  In  Dan.  vii.  we  have 
a  number  of  such  beasts.  The  Babylonish  empire  is  de- 
noted by  a  lion  with  eagle's  wings ;  the  Persian  empire, 
by  a  bear  with  a  piece  of  his  prey  in  his  mouth  ;  the  Gre- 
cian empire,  by  a  leopard  with  four  heads  and  four  wings  ; 
and  the  Roman  empire,  by  a  nondescript  fourth  beast, 
dreadful  and  terrible,  with  great  iron  teeth.  The  first 
part  of  this  thirteenth  chapter  gives  a  further  description 
of  this  fourth  beast,  denoting  the  secular  Roman  empire. 

The  beast  in  our  text  is  the  same  with  that  given  in 
Dan.  vii.  7.  In  three  difi'erent  passages  of  Scripture,  we 
find  this  secular  Roman  beast :  in  Dan.  vii.  7,  to  end ;  in 
our  text ;  and  in  Rev.  xvii.  In  some  other  texts  allusion  is 
made  to  this  beast.  In  each  of  these  three  principal  pas- 
sages, the  secular  beast  is  kept  distinct  from  the  papal 
power,  which  is  likewise  given :  and  we  are  never 
to  blend  them.     The  consideration  of  this  will  be  im- 


CHAPTER    XIII.  227 

portatit  to  a  right  understanding  of  these  powers, — the 
secular,  and  the  papal. 

A  beast  is  a  ruling  power,  and  not  a  subordinate  one. 
There  can  be  but  one  such  ruling  power  on  the  same 
ground,  at  the  same  time  ;  and  hence  we  can  have  but  one 
beast  on  the  same  ground  at  the  same  time.  Subordinate 
powers  are  but  horns  of  the  beast  of  that  region.  The 
secular  power  on  the  ground  of  the  Roman  earth,  from  the 
time  of  the  subversion  of  the  power  of  Greece,  before  the 
Christian  era,  till  the  battle  of  the  great  day,  is  given  under 
the  figure  of  a  great  and  terrible  beast,  rising  from  the 
sea ;  meaning  the  contending  state  of  the  nations  at  the 
time  of  its  rise ;  as  in  the  text,  and  in  Dan.  vii.  Though 
his  rise  had  long  been  past  when  our  text  was  written ; 
and  though  the  main  object  of  the  writer  was  to  foretel 
events  then  future  ;  yet  as  those  future  events  of  this  beast, 
or  things  to  take  place  towards  the  close  of  his  existence, 
must  be  known  as  the  deeds  of  the  Roman  beast ; — so  the 
account  must  revert  to  the  origin  of  this  beast  to  show  that 
he  is  (first  and  last)  the  same.  This  is  a  liberty  repeat- 
edly taken  in  prophecy,  as  has  been  shown.  When  that 
part  of  a  series  of  things  which  is  future,  is  to  be  pre- 
dicted ;  the  prediction  also  takes  into  view  the  origin  of 
that  series,  to  identify  the  future  with  it.  So  in  Rev.  xvii., 
describing  the  last  head  of  this  beast,  as  a  new  beast  from 
the  bottomless  pit ;  in  order  to  show  that  this  is  the  old 
Roman  beast,  his  seven  heads  are  given,  though  five  of 
them  were  then  past,  when  John  had  his  vision.  In  our 
text  additional  appendages  are  given.  Both  in  the  text, 
and  in  Daniel,  he  has  ten  horns.  Here  he  has  also  seven 
heads,  to  denote  seven  hills,  on  which  Rome  was  built ; 
and  also  seven  forms  of  government,  from  the  origin  to  the 
end  of  that  power ;  viz.  kings,  consuls,  dictators,  decem- 
virs, military  tribunes,  emperors,  and  an  atheistical  re- 
public. The  sixth,  the  imperial,  was  in  existence  when 
John  had  his  vision.  This  imperial  form  was  to  exist 
twice,  and  at  two  distinct  and  distant  periods,  as  will  be 
shown  on  Rev.  xvii.  The  first  reign  of  the  imperial  head 
was  in  existence  when  the  Revelation  was  given.  It  was 
under  this,  that  the  Christian  era  commenced,  that  Christ 
was  crucified,  and  that  the  ten  pagan  persecutions  of  the 
Christians  took  place.  It  was  this  imperial  head  that  then 
received  a  wound,  under  Constantine,  and  died  as  a  pagan 


228  LECTURE   XVII. 

beast,  by  the  empire's  becoming  Christian  ;  as  is  noted 
under  the  sixth  seal,  Rev.  vi.  12  to  end.  This  beast  lay 
dead,  in  symbolic  language,  from  that  time  for  many  cen- 
turies, and  had  only  a  mystical  existence  ;  "  that  ivas,  and 
is  7iot,  and  yet  is,''^  because  he  would  rise  again  in  the  last 
days  in  his  own  hostile  nature.  The  literal  facts  were, 
that  paganism  was  overturned  by  Constantine  in  the  fourth 
century  ;  and  Christianity  was  established  in  its  place. 
But,  at  a  period  far  future  of  that  revolution,  and  before  the 
battle  of  the  great  day  of  God,  a  terrible  power  should 
rise  on  the  Roman  earth,  similar  to  the  ancient  pagan 
beast.  And,  in  the  language  of  prophecy,  this  should  be 
noted  as  the  old  pagan  beast  recovered  to  life ;  or  his 
head  (anciently  put  to  death  by  the  sword)  having  its 
deadly  wound  healed,  and  living  again,  with  the  Roman 
world  wandering  after  him.  This  healing  was  to  be  ful- 
filled by  a  mighty  power  rising  on  the  Roman  earth,  in 
the  last  days,  of  utter  and  avowed  hostility  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  This  took  place  in  the  breaking  out  of  illuminism 
under  the  cover  of  masonry  in  France,  in  1789,  and  an 
antichristian  power  was  there  established.  This  will  be 
more  clearly  shown  in  lecturing  on  Rev.  xvii. — the  beast 
from  the  bottomless  pit,  which  is  but  the  healed  head  in 
our  text,  symbolized  by  a  new  beast  from  the  world  of 
darkness. 

It  seems,  from  the  various  descriptions  of  that  beast,  or 
power,  that  something  like  that  ancient  wounding,  and 
modern  healing  of  that  head  of  the  beast,  may  be  more 
than  once  verified  ;  that  it  is  a  characteristic  of  this  power 
which  may  be  verified  in  diflferent  instances.  This  power, 
being  part  of  iron,  and  part  of  clay,  as  in  the  feet  and  toes 
of  Daniel's  image,  seems  designed  to  convey  the  same 
idea.  This  beast  may  repeatedly  appear  partly  strong 
and  partly  broken,  before  its  final  crushing  under  the 
■wrath  of  Christ.  Its  being  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not, 
and  yet  is,  indicates  the  same  thing.  It  seems  sometimes 
out  of  existence,  and  sometimes  in  existence.  A  prime 
leader  of  the  order  said.  Let  the  whole  system  go  to  wreck  and 
ruin ;  I  will  engage  to  restore  it  in  a  short  time,  and  that  to  a 
more  perfect  state  than  before  !  One  thing  of  this  beast  is 
certain ;  he  is  spoken  of  as  having  an  existence,  either 
risible  or  invisible,  till  he  goes  into  perdition,  in  the  battle 
of  that  great  day  of  God, — the  last  vial ; — at  which  time 


CHAPTER  xm.  229 

he  comes  forth  in  his  war  with  Christ,  in  awful  hostihty, 
and  vast  strength ;  as  Rev.  xix.  19,  and  Dan.  vii.  11.  The 
bodv  of  this  beast  is  said,  in  our  text,  to  be  Hke  a  leo- 
pard, or  like  the  Macedonian  empire,  led  by  Alexander 
the  Great ;  his  feet  are  like  a  bear,  or  like  the  Medo-per- 
sian  empire  ;  his  mouth  like  the  mouth  of  a  lion,  or  like 
the  Babylonish  empire  ;  as  though  all  the  terrors  of  these 
ancient  powers  combined,  should  be  found  to  centre  in 
him.  And  the  dragon  (the  devil)  gives  him  his  power, 
and  seat  (throne),  and  great  authority.  This  pre-eminence 
is  thus  ascribed  to  the  agency  of  the  devil ;  as  it  is  indeed 
the  devil's  most  signal  instrument  of  hostility  to  Christ. 
This  same  secular  Roman  empire  we  have  seen  to  have 
been  in  most  active  and  powerful  hostility  to  Christ,  in  the 
origin,  and  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity ; — crucifying 
the  Saviour,  and  persecuting  his  followers.  And,  upon 
the  healing  of  his  deadly-wounded  head,  in  the  last  days, 
the  world  is  said,  in  our  text,  to  wonder  after  him.  The 
tide  of  his  influence  is  noted  as  thus  extensive.  The 
world  (the  Roman  world)  is  here  said  to  worship  the 
dragon  (the  devil),  who  gives  power  unto  the  beast ;  and 
to  worship  the  beast; — most  highly  to  admire  this  system, 
and  to  deem  it  invincible  :  "  who  is  like  unto  the  beast  ?  or 
able  to  make  war  with  him  ?"  The  worship  in  the  text 
denotes  overwhelming  admiration.  A  mouth  speaking" 
great  things  and  blasphemies  is  given  him ;  and  power  to 
continue  to  the  end  of  the  noted  1260  years. 

The  passage,  of  his  "  continuing  forty  and  two  months," 
has  perplexed  and  misled  commentators.  They  have 
been  led  to  suppose  that  as  this  is  the  time  allotted  for  the 
continuance  of  the  papal  power ;  so  the  power  here  de- 
scribed must  be  the  papal  power,  and  not  the  old  secular 
Roman  beast ;  and  they  have  thus  thrown  the  two  powers 
into  confusion,  and  rendered  the  subject  inexplicable. 
Their  mistake  is,  in  taking  for  granted  that  this  "forty 
and  two  months,"  in  our  text,  gives  the  exact  time  from 
the  rise  of  this  beast  to  his  fall :  but  this  is  not  the  sense. 
It  is  designed  simply  to  give  the  time  of  his  fall,  which  is 
at  the  end  of  the  noted  1260  years.  His  rise  was  before 
the  Christian  era.  This  sense  of  the  passage  is  decided 
in  Dan.  xii.  6.  Daniel,  here,  having  described  the  wilful 
power  (the  same  with  the  healed  head  in  our  text),  heard 
the  question,  how  long  it  should  be  to  the  end  of  these 
U 


230  LECTURE    XVII. 

wonders  ? — meaning  these  calamities  ; — the  very  question 
which  would  be  of  interest  in  the  case.  The  Angel  of 
the  covenant  answers  with  an  oath,  that  it  shall  be  "  for  a 
time,  times,  and  an  half;"  or  the  1260  years  :  as  though 
he  had  said,  the  end  of  these  wonders  shall  be  at  the  end 
of  the  1260  years.  He  had  no  occasion  to  give  the  whole 
time  of  the  existence  of  this  horrid  system  ;  but  simply  to 
tell  the  time  of  its  end.  This  period, — the  1260  years, — 
had  been  before  given  as  the  length  of  the  time  of  the 
saints  being  given  into  the  hands  of  papal  power, — Dan.  vii. 
25.  And  the  end  of  that  noted  time,  gives  the  period  of  the 
destruction  of  this  secular  beast.  The  phrase,  that  he 
hath  power  to  continue  forty  and  two  montlis,  is  thus 
elliptical ;  giving  a  part  for  the  whole.  This  well  accords 
with  the  language  of  prophecy. 

As  to  the  blasphemy  of  this  beast ;  should  he,  at  any 
one  time,  assume  the  characteristic  mark  of  direct  and 
open  blasphemy  ;  it  is  sufficient  to  form  this  character, 
even  if  he  should  afterward,  from  motives  of  policy,  learn 
greater  caution,  and  assume  his  nominal  form  of  godliness ; 
a  thing  long  predicted  tliat  he  would  do.  But  his  fixed 
character,  notwithstanding  this,  is  that  he  is  a  blasphemer; 
as  Rev.  xvii.  3  ;  "full  of  names  of  blasphemy."  It  will 
be  there  shown,  that  this  characteristic  was  by  him  most 
fully  assumed.  He  is  the  beast  of  ten  horns,  as  well  as 
of  seven  heads ;  though  his  ten  horns  were  not  of  continual 
existence.  If  at  any  one  time  they  were  found  to  exist ; 
it  gives  him  this  permanent  character  :  and  so  with  his 
blasphemy.  But  the  latter  will  be  found  to  be  abundantly 
manifest,  under  whatever  adventitious  form  of  godliness, 
or  cloak  of  goodness.  He  is  an  infidel, — denying  the 
Father,  and  the  Son. 

Our  text  informs  that  this  beast  has  power  "  to  make 
war  with  the  saints,  and  to  overcome  them.  And  power 
is  given  him  over  all  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations." 
This  was,  in  a  terrible  sense,  true  of  this  secular  beast  in 
the  ten  primitive  pagan  persecutions,  before  he  received  his 
deadly  wound  in  his  imperial  head  from  Constantine.  But 
the  event  in  our  text  seems  to  be  after  that  wound  is,  in 
the  last  days,  healed.  The  predicted  slaying  of  the  wit- 
nesses, by  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit,  may  tell  the 
secret  of  this  clause  in  our  text.  The  eventual  popularity 
of  this  resuscitated  beast,  in  the  last  days,  is  great.     In 


CHAPTER   XIII.  231 

addition  to  what  has  been  noted,  of  all  the  world  wonder- 
ing after  him,  and  worshipping  him ;  and  the  dragon  that 
governs  him  ;  exclaiming,  "  Who  is  like  unto  the  beast  ? 
who  is  able  to  make  war  with  him  V — it  is  added,  "  And 
all  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him  (or  plead 
his  cause),  whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of 
life."  Our  Lord,  upon  the  same  period,  says, — "  If  it 
were  possible,  they  would  deceive  even  the  very  elect." 
Then  it  is  that  God  will  search  Jerusalem  (his  visible 
kingdom)  with  candles,  and  punish  the  men  that  are 
settled  on  their  lees.  When  tilings  shall  have  come  to 
this  pass  ;  this  power  will  soon  go  into  perdition.  To 
this  our  text  alludes,  when  it  says,  "  He  that  leadelh  into 
captivity,  shall  go  into  captivity ;  he  that  killeth  with  the 
sword,  shall  be  killed  with  the  sword."  As  he  thought  to 
do  ;  "  so  it  shall  here  be  done  to  him."  Their  judgment  lin- 
gereth  not,  and  their  damnation  slumbereth  not;  as  in 
Isa.  xxvi.  (of  this  very  event) — "  For  the  fire  of  thine 
enemies  shall  devour  them."  "  And  the  beast  was  taken, 
and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame." 
The  account  closes, — "Here  is  the  patience  and  the  faith 
of  the  saints  !"  Or,  these  their  graces,  having  been  most 
deeply  tried,  shall  find  full  relief;  as  did  the  patience  and 
faith  of  the  chosen  tribes,  when  they  found  themselves  safe 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Red  Sea  ;  and  the  Egyptians 
"  sank,  like  lead,  in  the  mighty  waters !"  The  papal 
beast  follows,  but  must  be  deferred  to  the  next  lecture. 

Further  particulars  are  given  of  this  secular  Roman 
beast  in  chap,  xvii.,  where  the  new  beast  there,  will  be 
shown  to  be  the  same  whh  the  healed  head  which  has  been 
given. 

This  power  on  the  Roman  earth,  it  is  believed,  has  ap- 
peared, and  terrified  the  world,  in  these  last  days,  as  has 
been  shown  of  Illuminism,  breaking  out  in  the  revolution 
of  France,  in  1789.  .  To  the  joy  of  this  age  of  the  world, 
it  fell,  after  the  most  horrid  scenes  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, into  its  characteristic  non-existence.  But  it  will  be 
found,  that  it  "y^i  is  /"  For  the  going  of  this  power  into 
perdition,  under  the  seventh  trumpet,  and  seventh  vial,  is 
manifestly  now  future ;  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  this, 
it  will  again  appear  in  vast  strength  and  terror,  under 
^orae  new  forms,  or  occasions.     In  this,  the  prophecies  of 


232  LECTURE  xvn. 

this  period  do  fully  agree  ;  as  has  appeared,  and  will,  in 
future  lectures,  be  more  fully  shown. 

Behold  the  depravity  of  fallen  man,  that  millions 
of  the  human  race  should  be  of  such  a  character  and  con- 
duct, as  to  be  justly  represented  by  a  ferocious  beast, 
governed  by  the  devil,  as  has  appeared  !  How  fully  is 
fallen  man,  though  created  in  the  image  of  God,  now 
justly  said  to  be  of  his  father  the  devil ;  and  the  lusts  of 
his  father  he  will  do !  Sensual  and  base  must  be  the  heart 
of  the  millions  thus  represented  !  How  utterly  unfit  for 
heaven  !     How  wretched  if  admitted  there  ! 

Marvel  not,  then,  O  fallen  man,  that  you  must  be  born 
again.  This  delivering  act  of  grace  you  must  receive, 
or  eternally  perish.  Where  now  are  the  ancient  Roman 
heroes,  denoted  by  tlie  nondescript  beast  which  has  been 
considered  !  Where  are  those  blaspheming  French 
atheists,  who  brought  again  that  beast  from  the  bottom- 
less pit !  O  infidels,  and  sensualists  !  will  you,  to  idolize 
self  and  the  body,  forget  and  destroy  the  soul?  Will 
you,  for  time,  forget  eternity  ?  Eternity  will  not  return  the 
compliment,  and  forget  you.  Your  eternal  hell  will  not 
forget  to  receive  you  as  its  prey.  Multitudes,  multitudes, 
in  regions  far  from  the  old  Roman  earth,  carry  the  mark 
of  this  beast ;  some  in  their  foreheads,  and  some  in  their 
hands.  And  such,  unless  repentance  prevent,  will  receive 
of  his  plagues  ;  and  must  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  God.  Happy  it  is,  that  the  prophetic  scriptures  do  fur- 
nish us  with  a  clear  admonitory  view  of  the  calamities 
and  dangers  through  which  the  people  of  God  must  pass, 
from  their  present  to  their  millennial  state.  Such  pre- 
monitions do  most  solemnly  demand  devout  attention, 
study,  and  practical  improvement,  to  meet  their  events 
with  due  discernment  and  preparation.  And  most 
blessed  is  the  fact,  that  the  prophecies  furnish  the 
church  with  a  blessed  Pisgah's  top,  whence  to  behold  the 
Millennium,  and  also  the  glories  of  heaven.  We  will 
not  fail  to  ascend  this  height  by  faith  !  We  will  not  idly 
sleep  at  the  foot  of  this  mount  of  God  ! 


LECTURE  XVIII. 


REVELATION    XIII. 


Ver.  11.  And  I  beheld  another  beast  coming  up 
out  of  the  earth ;  and  he  had  two  horns  hke  a  lamb, 
and  he  spake  as  a  dragon. 

12.  And  he  exerciseth  all  the  power  of  the  first 
beast  before  him,  and  cause th  the  earth  and  them 
which  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  first  beast,  whose 
deadly  wound  was  healed. 

13.  And  he  doeth  great  wonders,  so  that  he 
maketh  fire  come  down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in 
the  sight  of  men, 

14.  And  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth 
by  the  means  of  those  miracles,  which  he  had  power 
to  do  in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying  to  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  that  they  should  make  an  image 
to  the  beast,  which  had  the  wound  by  a  sword,  and 
did  live. 

15.  And  he  had  power  to  give  life  unto  the  image 
of  the  beast,  that  the  image  of  the  beast  should  both 
speak,  and  cause  that  as  many  as  would  not  worship 
the  image  of  the  beast  should  be  killed. 

16.  And  he  causeth  all,  both  small  and  great,  rich 
and  poor,  free  and  bond,  to  receive  a  mark  in  their 
right  hand,  or  in  their  foreheads : 

17.  And  that  no  man  might  buy  or  sell,  save  he 
that  had  the  mark,  or  the  name  of  the  beast,  or  the 
number  of  his  name. 

18.  Here  is  wisdom.  Let  him  that  hath  under* 
standing  count  the  number  of  the  beast :  for  it  is  the 
number  of  a  man ;  and  his  number  is  six  hundred 
threescore  and  six, 

V% 


234  LECTURE  xvm. 

A  delineation  is  given,  in  the  preceding  lecture,  of  the 
secular  Roman  power,  under  the  figure  of  a  terrible  beast* 
In  our  present  text,  we  have  the  papal  apostacy  denoted 
by  "  another  beast,"  the  description  of  which  the  papal 
hierarchy  perfectly  fulfils.  This  second  or  papal  beast  is 
the  same  with  the  "  other  little  horn,"  in  Dan.  vii.  8  ;  having 
eyes  like  the  eyes  of  a  man,  and  a  mouth  speaking  great 
things.  It  is  also  the  same  with  the  woman,  "  the  mother 
of  harlots,  and  abominations  of  the  earth,"  mounted  on  the 
secular  beast.  Rev.  xvii.  3-6.  In  these  three  collateral 
passages,  we  have  the  same  secular  power,  and  the  same 
papal  power,  in  contiguity  to  each  other.  In  the  first,  the 
papal  power  is  a  horn  of  the  secular  power.  In  the  second^ 
it  is  another  beast.  In  the  third,  it  is  a  woman,  of  horrid 
fame,  on  the  back  of  the  secular  beast ;  going  to  execution, 
as  will  be  shown  in  chap.  xvii.  These  three  inspired  repre- 
sentations give  great  facility  to  their  exposition. 

While  the  secular  beast  lay  dead  of  his  wound,  received 
from  Constantine,  in  the  revolution  in  the  Roman  empire 
from  paganism  to  Christianity,  in  the  fourth  century  (and 
thus  "  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is"),  the  papal  beast  arose 
on  the  same  ground.  This  beast  arose,  not  from  the 
"5m"  (the  revolutionary  state  of  the  secular  world), 
as  did  the  Roman  secular  beast  (Dan.  vii.  3 ;  Rev. 
xiii.  1);  but  from  the  ''earth;''  the  earthly  and  carnal 
policy  of  the  church  and  pontiff  of  Rome.  This  beast  had 
two  horns  like  a  lamb  ;  but  he  spake  like  a  dragon ;  or 
■was  a  dragon  in  sheep's  clothing.  He  goaded  and  tor- 
mented the  true  witnesses  of  Christ  with  his  two  systems 
of  tyranny — ecclesiastical  and  civil ;  and  was  himself  a 
prime  instrument  of  the  wicked  one,  under  the  highest  pro- 
fessions of  Christianity.  This  second  beast  grew,  till  it 
came  (it  is  said)  "  to  exercise  all  the  power  of  the  first 
beast  before  him :"  became,  as  that  was,  a  perfect  perse- 
cutor of  the  church  of  Christ.  The  establishments  in  the 
church,  in  Christian  Rome,  by  Constantine,  operated  as  a 
source  of  corruption  to  the  bishops  of  Rome.  To  obtain, 
and  to  enlarge  these  honourable  and  lucrative  establish- 
ments, became  a  prime  object  of  ambition  and  intrigue. 
Two  things  operated  to  throw  power  into  the  hands  of  the 
Romish  pontiffs ;  first,  the  factious  chizens  of  Rome  often 
found  it  convenient,  in  their  contentions,  to  apply  to  the 
ambitious  bishop  of  that  city,  to  decide  their  disputes; 


CHAPTER    XIII.  235 

which  thing  the  aspiring  pontiffs  did  not  fail  of  improving 
to  their  own  aggrandizement.  Secondly,  the  idea  had 
been  conceived,  and  after  long  struggles  confirmed,  that 
the  commission  of  Christ,  given  to  his  gospel  ministers^ 
had  instituted  different  grades  of  men  in  this  office  ;  or  had 
given  the  official  right  to  some  to  rule  ;  while  the  same 
commission  gave  to  others  to  be  ruled.  Long  had  the 
faithful  witnesses  of  Christ  piously  struggled  against  this 
innovating  corruption.  Jerome  and  many  others  con- 
tended for  the  well  known  fact,  that  those  who  had  come 
to  be  called  bishops,  were  never,  in  early  times,  viewed  to 
be  of  an  officially  superior  order,  but  only  as  first  among 
equals  in  office,  and  received  all  their  supremacy  only 
from  the  customs  of  the  day  ;  and  not  from  any  superior 
commission  from  Christ.  We  find,  in  authentic  church 
history,  that  the  early  bishops  had  no  superior  power, 
allowed  in  the  church,  to  enact  any  thing,  but  in  union 
with  both  the  common  pastors,  and  the  brethren  of  the 
churches.  But  the  long  pontifical  exertions  to  be  received 
as  being  of  an  order  officially  superior,  prevailed  ;  and  they 
assumed  a  power  to  act  independently  of  the  common  pas- 
tors, and  brethren.  And  these  lordly  pontiffs  soon  came  to 
exercise  influence  in  proportion  to  the  city  in  which  they 
dwelt.  The  bishop  of  Rome,  hence,  soon  found  himself 
able  to  rise  from  one  degree  of  ambitious  power  to  another, 
till  the  emperor  Phocas  declared  Bishop  Boniface  III.  to 
be  universal  bishop  of  the  Christian  church ;  and  himself 
to  be  judged  by  no  man.  And  the  pretensions  and  influ- 
ence of  this  bishop  rose  still  higher  and  higher,  till  the  full 
grown  man  of  sin  became  manifest ;  and  the  saints  were 
given  into  his  hands  for  1260  years.  The  long  wilder- 
ness state  of  the  true  church,  and  the  papal  blasphemous 
horn  here  commenced — Dan.  vii.  8,  1 1 ;  also  the  papal 
harlot — Rev.  xvii.  1-5.  And  here,  at  a  period  which  will 
receive  further  attention,  arose  the  second  beast ;  that  in 
our  text.  This  spiritual  beast  was  to  "  reign  over  the 
kings  of  the  earth  (chap.  xvii.  18) ;  while  the  secular 
Roman  beast  lay  dead.  Prophetic  imagery  cannot  admit 
of  but  one  beast  on  the  same  ground  at  the  same  time.  A 
beast  is  the  great  ruling  power  of  an  empire  :  and  two  such 
powers  in  an  empire  cannot  at  the  same  time  exist. 

This  papal  beast  was  "  diverse'''  from  all  other  powers — 
Dan.  vii.  24 ;   or,  he  was  ecclesiastical.     The  secular 


236  LECTURE    XVIII. 

Koman  beast  was  said  to  be  '•'-diverse'''  from  other  beasts 
that  had  gone  before — verse  7.  But  the  papal  beast  was 
still  "•diverse'^  from  this,  as  professing  to  be  a  spiritual 
power.  For  many  centuries,  this  papal  beast  did  govern 
with  a  mighty  sway,  and  reigned  indeed  over  the  kings  of 
the  papal  earth.  These  kings  formed  one  of  his  horns  ; 
and  his  armies  of  priests  the  other.  The  pope  assumed 
power  to  crown  kings,  and  to  strike  off  their  crowns,  at 
his  pleasure,  as  is  well  known  in  history.  Says  Bishop 
Newton,  "  The  pope  was  at  the  head  of  the  state,  as  well 
as  of  the  church."  A  bishop  of  the  council  of  Lateran, 
styled  the  pope,  "  The  prince  of  the  world."  A  Catholic 
orator  called  him,  "  king  of  kings,  and  monarch  of  the 
world."  A  prelate  said  of  him,  that  "  he  had  all  power, 
above  all  power,  botli  of  heaven  and  earth."  Pope  Inno- 
cent boasted,  that  the  church  was  his  spouse,  who  brought 
him  her  dowry  of  absolute  power,  in  temporals,  and  in 
spirituals. — That  she  brought  him  his  mitre,  as  priest, 
and  his  crown,  as  king  ;  and  she  consthuted  him  vicar  to 
Him  who  is  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords  !"  This 
was  the  papal  power,  which  was  claimed  and  acknow- 
ledged for  many  centuries.  It  was  then  the  highest  power 
on  earth,  for  the  time  ;  and  was  a  beast  indeed.  "  Mys- 
tery Babylon  the  Great !"  The  views  given  of  popery,  in 
the  collateral  passages,  militate  nothing  against  this.  It 
was  a  horn  of  the  secular  beast,  in  Dan.  vii.  as  it  rose  on 
the  same  ground  with  the  secular  beast,  and  remains  in 
existence,  after  the  secular  beast  recovers  his  life. 
But  this  does  not  hint  that  it  was  not  itself  a  beast,  part 
of  the  time,  on  the  same  ground,  while  the  secular  beast 
lay  dead.  And,  in  our  text  and  context,  we  find  it  did 
thus  become  a  beast ;  and  fact  from  history  testifies  the 
same.  The  view  given  of  the  papal  harlot,  in  Rev.  xvii. 
as  borne  on  the  back  of  the  secular  beast,  does  not  inter- 
fere with  our  view  given.  For  this  her  position  on  his 
back  is  after  he  recovers  his  life,  in  the  last  days,  or 
ascends  from  the  bottomless  pit, — takes  the  ground  as  a 
reigning  power ;  and  popery  becomes  a  merely  subordi- 
nate being, — a  false  prophet, — a  harlot  on  the  way  to  exe- 
cution. 

This  second  (the  papal)  beast,  is  said  to  exercise  all 
the  power  of  the  first  beast,  or  of  pagan  Rome  ;  meaning  be- 
fore the  revolution  from  paganism.     This  implies  what  has 


CHAPTER   XIII.  237 

been  stated,  that  the  pagan  beast  had,  for  the  time,  ceased 
to  exist. — "The  first  beast  before  him,"  says  the  text. 
The  pagan  beast  was  before  him  ;  but  was  not  now  in  real 
existence.  The  papal  beast  exercised  all  the  power  of 
the  first,  by  occasioning  as  much  annoyance  to  the  true 
people  of  God,  as  did  the  pagan  beast.  He  caused  the 
people  of  the  papal  earth  to  worship  the  pagan  beast,  by 
making  them  submit  to  a  system  of  false  religion  of  his 
own  invention,  no  better  than  the  religion  of  the  antece- 
dent pagan  empire,  noted  by  the  beast  in  the  first  part  of 
this  chapter.  And  the  papal  power  thus  makes  an  image 
to  the  pagan  beast,  and  enforces  the  worship  of  it  upon  all 
men,  upon  pain  of  death.  This  explains  his  causing  all 
men  to  worship  the  beast.  They  do  it,  by  worshipping 
his  image  in  the  hands  of  popery.  This  image  of  old 
paganism  must  mean  that  in  po])ery  which  resembles 
paganism.  But  this  is  the  body  of  the  papal  religion ; 
that  mummery  of  delusion,  which  is  nothing  better 
than  paganism  under  the  Christian  name.  It  is  striking, 
indeed,  that  this  should  be  called  an  image  to  the  first 
beast.  Ordinances  of  religion  of  human  invention  are 
nothing  but  an  image  of  pagan  mythology.  If  it  nearly 
resembles  the  Christian  religion,  it  is  so  much  the  worse, 
as  being  more  dangerous.  Counterfeits  well  executed  are 
counterfeits  still,  and  are  more  dangerous  than  those  badly 
executed.  The  whole  mass  of  popery  is  but  an  image  of 
paganism,  as  our  text,  and  the  whole  genius  of  the  Bible 
decide.  One  essential  feature  of  old  Roman  paganism 
was,  paying  adoration  to  great  characters  who  are  dead, 
and  applying  to  them  as  demigods,  or  mediators  between 
them  and  their  highest  God ;  and  venerating  them  in 
images.  And  a  complete  image  of  this  idolatry  was 
established  in  popery.  Deceased  saints  were  there  con- 
stituted their  intercessors  with  God.  And  worship,  directed 
by  the  fancied  mediation  of  such  saints,  was  there  "estab- 
lished by  law."  (Scott.)  And  "the  worship  of  images  was 
there  establislied  by  the  second  council  of  Nice."  (Faber.) 
In  pagan  Rome  the  names  of  these  demigods  were  selected 
from  great  civil  or  military  characters.  In  papal  Rome, 
they  were  selected  from  the  apostles,  or  eminent  Chris- 
tians. The  virgin  Mary  is  with  them  a  most  worshipful 
demigod.  Her  image,  with  that  of  Christ,  and  other  fa- 
vourite saints,  must  be  before  them  for  remembrance  and 


238  LECTURE    XVIII. 

veneration.  These,  and  a  hurdle  of  rites  of  human  inven- 
tion, constitute  the  false  religion  of  popery, — the  papal 
image  made  to  the  pagan  beast.  To  accommodate  which, 
and  to  sanction  the  blasphemous  supremacy  of  the  pope, 
the  Bible  itself  is,  by  them,  altered,  and  made  to  read 
according  to  their  impious  and  abominable  system.  Giv- 
ing life  to  this  image — making  it  to  speak,  and  to  cause 
that  all  who  would  not  worship  it,  should  be  put  to  death, 
is  a  striking  representation  of  the  real  management  of 
popery.  This  was  aided  by  false  miracles,  dogmas,  and 
gross  impositions.  By  a  bloody  usurpation,  and  abuse  of 
power,  all  who  could  not  submit  to  this  impious  mummery 
of  p:ipal  religion,  should  be  excommunicated,  and  delivered 
over  to  the  civil  sword.  The  popes  managed  the  (uvil  pow- 
ers, and  especially  the  German  empire  (which  was  designed 
for  this  very  purpose),  as  a  mere  puppet  in  their  own  hands, 
to  enforce  their  laws,  and  to  execute  their  bloody  bulls 
and  thunderbolts.  This  beast  is  noted,  in  the  text,  as 
making  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven,  in  the  sight  of 
men,  and  deceiving  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth.  This 
alludes  to  the  papal  system  of  false  miracles.  Let  one 
instance  of  these  serve  to  illustrate  this  portion  of  our  text; 
an  instance  given  from  good  authority.  A  Catholic  priest 
had  found,  on  a  tree,  the  nest  of  a  very  loquacious  bird. 
He  now  formed  a  design  to  work  a  papal  miracle,  to 
strengthen  their  system.  He  placed  under  this  nest  a 
bomb  of  powder;  with  a  trail,  which  he  induced  some 
arch  accomplice  to  manage.  He  then  notified  a  religious 
meeting,  to  be  holden  in  the  shade  of  that  tree.  In  the 
midst  of  their  religious  exercises,  the  bird,  being  disturbed, 
became  clamorous,  as  he  well  knew  would  be  the  case. 
After  bearing  with  her  noise  for  a  time,  he  aflTected  to  be 
out  of  patience,  that  she  should  thus  disturb  their  devo- 
tions ;  and  he  prayed  that  the  fire  of  heaven  might  destroy 
her.  His  accomplice  now  slyly  fired  the  trail  of  powder, 
which  caused  the  bomb  under  the  nest  to  explode.  And 
here  was  a  notable  miracle  to  vindicate  the  papal  religion. 
And  multitudes  of  miracles,  equally  divine,  confirmed  their 
deluded  millions  in  papal  superstition.  The  papal  beast 
called  to  his  aid  also  the  fire  of  persecution,  to  afllict  the 
true  witnesses  of  Christ.  And  thousands,  almost  beyond 
number,  he  caused  to  seal  their  testimony  with  their  blood. 
In  verses  12,  14,  it  is  said  of  the  secular  beast  (to  which 


CHAPTER   XIII.  239 

the  papal  beast  made  an  image),  "  whose  deadly  wound 
was  healed  ;"  "  which  had  the  wound  by  the  sword,  and 
did  live ;"  which  passages  have  led  some  incautiously  to 
imagine  that  the  secular  beast  alluded  to  is  here  repre- 
sented as  actually  alive,  in  the  time  of  the  papal  beast; 
and  that  hence  the  papal  power  must  be  himself  this  beast 
raised  to  life.     But  the  text  says  no  such  thing.     And  the 
figure  in  the  text  can  admit  of  no  such  thing,  as  has  been 
shown.     Two  beasts  cannot  exist  at  the  same  time  in  the 
same  place.     The  text  no   more  says  the  secular  beast 
was  already  alive  from   this  deadly  wound  in  his  head, 
while  the  papal  beast  lived,  than  it  says  he  was  thus  alive 
while  John  was  writing  the  passages.     The  two  passages 
are  simple  references  to  the  figure  of  the  first  beast  pre- 
sented to  the  eye  of  John.    In  this,  it  is  found  that  the  secu- 
lar beast,  at  some  time  between  his  rise  and  his  final  ruin, 
dies  by  a  wound  in  the  head,  and  yet  afterward  lives  again  ; 
this  deadly  wound  being  healed.     And  now,  in  deseribinor 
this  beast,  as  distinct  from  the  papal  beast  and  all  others ; 
this  part  of  the  description  is  taken,  as  being  singularly 
prominent  among  his  features  ;  but  not  to  decide  any  thing 
as  to  the  time,  when  the  healing  of  his  head  takes  place  ; 
whether  in   the  days  of  papal  predominance  ;   or  in   the 
revolution  in  France,  in  1789.     It  could  not  take  place  in 
the  former,  and  yet  popery  be  a  beast.     But  it  could  in 
the  latter  ;  and  thus  destroy  the  papal  beast,  and   take 
his    place     as    a    supreme    power;    as    was    the    fact. 
The  making  of  an  image  by  the  papal  beast  to  the  first, 
the  pagan,  implies  that  the  pagan  beast  was  not  himself 
on  the  ground,  but  lay  dead.     In  verse  14,  the  papal  mii-a- 
cles  are  said  to  take  place,  "  in  sight  of  the  beast,"  prob- 
ably meaning  the  pagan  beast.     This  also  at  first  view 
seems  to  indicate  that  the  pagan  beast  was  then  alive. 
But  for  the  reasons  which  have  been  stated,  this  cannot 
have  been  the  fact.     John  beheld  in  vision  the  two  beasts 
standing  in  his  view  together.     Of  course  what  was  done 
by  the  papal,  was  done  (as  it  might  seem  to  him)  in  sight 
of  the  pagan.     But  this  was  not  designed  to  teach  that 
the  two  beasts  were  actually  to  exist  on  earth  at  the  same 
time.     It  has  been  shown  that  such  could  not  have  been 
the  case.     The  miracles  being  "  in  sight  of  the  beast," 
means  also,  that  when  this  image  was  made,  the  old  pa- 
gan beast  was  in  clear  historic  sight,  and  therefore  the 


240'  LECTURE    XVIII. 

papal  beast  must  make  an  image  to  it ;  as  it  follows  the 
words,  "  saying  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  that  they 
should  make  an  image  to  the  beast," — the  pagan  beast. 
This  is  given  as  explanatory  of  his  working  miracles  in 
the  sight  of  the  beast :  hence  says  Pool,  "  in  sight  of  the 
beast,  i.  e.  to  his  honour  and  to  gain  him  reputation."  If 
this  were  not  the  real  design  in  the  mind  of  the  pope,  but 
to  gain  his  own  reputation ;  yet  it  operated  as  a  gaining 
of  reputation  to  paganism,  as  it  is  itself  no  better  than  pa- 
ganism. The  fact  was,  paganism  in  the  revolution  under 
Constantine  died.  Popery  afterward  rose,  and  reigned 
long  over  the  kings  of  the  Roman  earth.  It  supported  a 
system  of  false  religion,  by  false  miracles,  and  by  perse- 
cution, no  belter  in  reality  than  paganism.  This  it  did 
in  the  full  sight  of  the  history  of  the  abominations  and 
cruelties  of  the  antecedent  paganism ;  and  it  continued 
thus  to  do,  till  the  pope  lost  his  supremacy  in  the  revolution 
occasioned  by  the  bursting  into  power  of  the  system  of 
the  Voltaire  infidelity  in  1789. 

The  papal  beast  in  our  text  causes  his  subjects  to  re- 
ceive a  mark  in  their  foreheads,  or  in  their  hands,  which 
was  essential  to  their  title  to  civil  or  social  rights.  In 
various  passages  this  fact  is  noted.  (See  Rev.  xiv.  9-11, 
and  XV.  2,  and  xx.  4.)  This  mark  is  expressed  m  allu- 
sion to  an  ancient  custom  of  masters  affixing  a  mark,  at 
their  pleasure,  on  their  servants,  in  their  forehead,  or  hand, 
or  where  they  pleased.  The  papal  beast  placed  no 
such  literal  mark  on  his  subjects,  but  did  what  is  well 
thus  denoted.  The  mark  in  the  text  was  such  as  follows 
— the  sign  of  the  cross  must  be  received — all  devotions 
were  performed  in  Latin,  a  language  unknown  to  most  of 
the  common  people.  They  must  be  kept  in  ignorance  of 
their  Bibles  ;  being  taught  that  "  ignorance  is  the  mother 
of  devotion."  In  the  Catholic  church,  every  thing  used 
to  be  performed  in  Latin, — mass,  prayers,  hymns,  litanies, 
canons,  decretals,  papal  bulls,  results  of  councils,  reading 
the  Bible  (by  the  few  who  could  read),  and  preaching ; 
all  formerly  must  be  done  in  a  language  unknown  to  com- 
mon people.  Yet  all  the  people  must  attend,  and  hear 
this  trumpery  of  hypocrisy  and  ignorance.  All  were 
watched,  and  if  any  allowed  themselves  to  neglect  these  pa- 
pal duties,  they  were  denied  the  privilege  of  citizens,  and 
were  persecuted  as  heretics.    We  learn  here,  thus  far,  what 


CHAPTER    Xm. 


241 


was  the  mark  of  the  beast  in  those  former  ages.  In  sub- 
sequent ages,  it  might  vary  according  to  times  and  cir- 
cumstances. These  things,  with  all  the  abominations  of 
popery,  the  true  witnesses  refused,  and  hence  were  per- 
secuted. 

Among  the  marks  of  the  beast,  we  have  his  number, 
and  that  of  his  name ;  which  number  is  666.  This,  as 
the  number  of  his  name,  is  thus  explained.  The  letters, 
which  in  Greek  (the  language  in  which  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  written)  form  the  name  Lateinos,  the  founder 
of  Rome  (real  or  fictitious),  make  666;  and  thus  assure 
us  that  Rome  is  the  seat  of  the  papal  beast.  And  the 
letters  which  form  the  name  of  Rome  in  Hebrew  (in 
which  the  Old  Testament  was  written)  make  666.  We 
have  here  a  double  divine  attestation  that  the  seat  of  this 
second  beast  is  Rome.  These  letters,  used  numerically 
(a  well  known  custom  of  expressing  numbers),  give  this 
number  thus. 


GREEK 

NAME. 

HEBREW 

NAME. 

L 

- 

30 

R 

- 

200 

A 

- 

1 

U 

- 

6 

T 

- 

300 

M 

- 

40 

E 

. 

5 

I 

- 

10 

I 

- 

10 

I 

- 

10 

N 

. 

.50 

T 

- 

400 

0 

- 

70 

s 

"   " 

200 
666 

666 

The  people,  then,  who  glory  in  the  distinctive  names  and 
features  of  this  religion,  belong  to  the  beast  in  our  text. 

The  mark  of  the  beast  may  be  viewed  as  varying,  to 
meet  their  case.  When  the  Jesuits  arose  with  a  powerful 
code  of  regulations  for  the  support  of  the  sinking  papacy, 
their  distinctive  marks,  whatever  they  were,  were  the 
marks  of  the  beast.  And  when  the  illuminees  in  after 
days  arose  to  propagate  infidelity,  their  peculiar  marks 
of  distinction  were  marks  of  the  beast.  If  the  same 
diabolical  system  is  now  in  operation  (as  no  doubt  it  is, 
in  latent  caverns,  having  been  strongly  planted  in  twelve 
different  nations  at  least),  its  distinguishing  marks 
X 


242  LECTURE    XVIII. 

(whether  open  or  concealed),  are  the  marks  of  the  beasty 
either  papal  or  infidel. 

We  find  both  the  number  of  the  beast,  and  the  number 
of  his  name.  The  sense  of  the  latter  has  been  exhibited. 
The  following  remarks  may  give  the  sense  of  this  num- 
ber as  the  number  of  the  beast,  in  distinction  from  that  of 
his  name.  This  number  666  seems  to  have  been  de- 
signed to  apply  in  different  ways,  as  the  words  "number 
of  the  beast"  and  "number  of  his  name"  imply.  Its  sense, 
as  the  number  of  the  name  has  been  given. 

It  is  also  the  number  of  the  beast,  which  may  apply  in 
a  still  different  sense.  We  have  the  express  number 
1260,  repeatedly  given,  as  the  number  of  the  years  of  the 
depression  of  the  church  under  the  tyranny  of  the  papal 
beast,  and  extending  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  In 
Dan.  xii.  we  have  two  express  additional  numbers, — 30, 
and  45, — relative  to  the  close  of  the  latter  of  which  Dan- 
iel says,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth,  and  cometh ;" 
meaning,  no  doubt,  that  this  gives  the  sunrise  of  the  Mil- 
lennium. But  to  what  purpose  are  these  express  num- 
bers given,  unless  a  fourth  number  be  somewhere  furnished 
to  inform  of  the  commencement  of  the  noted  1260  years? 
for  men  would  never  agree  when  these  should  commence. 
But  if  such  a  fourth  number  be  given,  it  might  be  ex- 
pected to  attend  the  description  of  the  papal  beast,  whose 
rise  commences  the  1260  years.  And  here  such  a  num- 
ber is  in  fact  found,  and  is  called  the  number  of  the  beast, 
as  well  as  the  number  of  his  name.  It  is  then  as  though 
God  should  kindly  say  to  man,  so  gradual  was  the  rise  of 
the  papal  beast,  that  you,  short-sighted  man,  can  never 
tell  when  to  date  his  rise,  and  to  commence  your  noted 
1260  years.  Take,  then,  the  commencement  of  A.  D. 
666,  as  the  number  of  the  papal  beast,  and  the  time  of 
his  driving  the  church  into  the  wilderness,  which  com- 
mences the  1260  years,  and  add  to  these  sums  the  30 
and  45,  in  Dan.  xii.,  and  you  have  the  beginning  of  2001 
as  the  sunrise  of  the  millennial  day,  to  which  time  "  blessed 
is  he  that  waiteth  and  cometh!" — 666-|- 1260+30-1-45 
=2001. 

And  this  is  the  period  in  which  the  best  writers  have 
agreed  as  the  commencement  of  the  Millennium,  the  be- 
ginning of  2001,  or  close  of  2000;  finding  iJOOO  years 
before  Abraham ;  2000  from  him  to  Christ,  and  2000 


CHAPTER   XIV.  243 

from  his  day  to  his  millenial  kingdom.  And  with  this  ac- 
cords the  analogy  of  the  natural  week, — six  days  for  labour 
and  the  seventh  for  rest,  and  one  day  here  being  as  a 
thousand  years. 

Behold  the  exhibition  made  of  human  depravity  by 
the  papal  see  !  a  beast  of  abomination  !  Blessed  be  God 
for  the  sure  denunciation,  "  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen." 
May  the  knowledge  and  improvement  of  the  event  soon 
bless  the  world.  And  may  our  religion  never  be  a  mere 
image  of  paganism,  nor  a  mere  image  of  true  religion,  but 
may  it  be  the  reality — the  life  of  true  religion  in  the  soul, 
to  the  glory  of  God,  and  our  own  eternal  salvation. 


LECTURE   XIX. 


REVELATION    XIV. 

The  outlines  of  the  great  leading  events  of  the  first  fif- 
teen centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  have  been  given  in  the 
two  antecedent  chapters.  In  this  chapter,  events  com- 
mence with  the  sixteenth  century,  giving  the  Reforma- 
tion, and  a  variety  of  succeeding  events,  till  it  closes  in 
the  battle  of  the  great  day,  under  the  double  figure  of  the 
harvest  and  the  vintage. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  looked,  and  lo,  a  Lamb  stood  on  the 
mount  Sion,  and  with  him  an  hundred  forty  and  four 
thousand,  having  his  Father's  name  written  in  their 
foreheads. 

We  have  here  a  notable  appearance  of  Christ  in  his 
church,  the  true  mount  Zion,  which  had  long  seemed,  to  a 
distressing  degree,  forsaken  of  God.  The  power  of 
popery  had  long  appeared  to  maintain  an  impious  triumph ; 
and  had  seemed  continually  to  repeat  the  blasphemous 
taunt,  "  God  hath  forsaken  him ;  persecute  and  take  him ; 


244  LECTURE    XIX. 

for  there  is  none  to  deliver  him."  Long  had  the  man  of 
sin  remained  in  his  zenith  of  impious  glory ;  and  had 
deemed  his  seat  and  fortress  as  fixed  among  the  stars,  and 
for  ever  secure.  But  the  time  of  a  new  era  of  events  for 
the  mother  of  harlots, — to  compel  her  to  a  retrograde  mo- 
tion,— had  arrived.  A  climax  of  fatal  judgments  was 
now  to  open  upon  this  diabolical  system,  which  should 
close  in  her  being  hurled  into  the  burning  lake.  The 
events  of  this  chapter  were  to  be  synchronical  with  those 
of  the  seven  vials,  in  the  two  succeeding  chapters.  They 
relate  more  immediately  to  the  church ;  and  the  seven 
vials  give  those  which  relate  to  her  enemies. 

The  sixteenth  century  commenced  with  vast  and  por- 
tentous events,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  lecture  on  the  first 
vial.  Our  text  assures  of  a  new  sealing  time,  after  the 
dark  and  horrid  papal  ages.  The  mount  Zion  here,  is 
the  true  church  of  Christ  reviving.  And  the  hundred  and 
forty  and  four  thousand  (a  certain  number,  probably,  for 
an  uncertain)  are  the  Protestants  of  that  day.  Twelve 
hundred  years  before  God's  grace  had  caused  a  sealing 
time  to  bless  the  Christian  empire,  as  chap.  vii.  A  long 
and  dreary  period,  from  that  time,  had  lain  with  dreadful 
weight  on  Christ's  two  witnesses.  But  scenes  of  grace 
at  last  awoke  on  Zion.  A  faithful  God  will  not  fail  to 
keep  her  as  the  apple  of  his  eye.  Martin  Luther  now 
appeared;  and  other  powerful  coadjutors,  by  Heaven  pre- 
pared, to  be  champions  of  grace.  These,  and  espe- 
cially Luther,  God  girded  with  his  might ;  and  he 
shielded  them  as  with  a  wall  of  fire.  These  bold  re- 
formers drew  the  horrid  veil  which  long  had  hid  from 
common  view  the  seas  of  papal  filth  and  impious  abomi- 
nation. This  caused  millions  to  flee  from  that  sink  of 
pollution,  to  the  firm  ground  of  the  Protestant  establish- 
ment. The  name  of  God  inscribed  upon  the  foreheads  of 
the  company  who  now  appeared  with  Christ,  alludes  to 
the  bold  profession,  and  manifest  pure  religion  of  those 
who  now  renounced  the  papal  see. 

Ver.  2.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  as  the 
voice  of  many  v^^aters,  and  as  the  voice  of  a  great 
thunder  :  and  I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers  harping 
with  their  harps. 

3.  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before  the 


CHAPTER   XIV.  245 

throne,  and  before  the  four  beasts,  and  the  elders : 
and  no  man  could  learn  that  song  but  the  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand,  which  were  redeemed 
from  the  earth. 

4.  These  are  they  which  were  not  defiled  with 
women ;  for  they  are  virgins.  These  are  they 
which  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth. 
These  were  redeemed  from  among  men,  being  the 
first-fruits  unto  God  and  to  the  Lamb. 

5.  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no  guile :  for 
they  are  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God. 

We  have  here  the  increasing  numbers  of  the  Protest- 
ants of  that  period  ;  their  evangelical  songs  of  praise ; 
and  their  utter  disconnexion  with  the  idolatries  of  popery. 
The  kingdoms  of  England,  Scotland,  Denmark,  Sweden, 
almost  half  the  princes  of  Germany,  large  parts  of  France, 
of  Switzerland,  and  other  realms,  relinquished,  utterly, 
their  allegiance  to  the  hierarchy, — the  papal  monster, — 
and  engaged  to  support  the  pure  religion  of  the  gospel. 
And  the  voices  of  the  praise  of  their  swelling  numbers 
arose  from  a  likeness  to  the  sound  of  great  waters,  to  that 
of  mighty  thunderings  !  And  with  sacred  instruments,  as 
well  as  with  vocal  music,  they  adored  the  God  of  salva- 
tion in  the  new  song  of  redeeming  love,  which  none  but 
the  new-born  could  understand.  Their  freedom,  which 
they  now  enjoyed  from  the  idolatries  of  popery,  is  here 
noted  under  the  figure  o^  virgin  purity.  Inspiration  here 
testifies  of  these  reformed  multitudes,  "  These  are  they 
which  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth."  The 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  religious  order  and 
rites  then  maintained  by  the  Protestants,  are  well  known. 
And  they  are  thus  approved  of  God, — "  These  are  they 
which  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth."  And  what 
follows  confirms  the  approbation ;  they  are  said  to  be 
"  the  first-fruits  unto  God,  and  to  the  Lamb :  and  in  their 
mouth  was  found  no  guile  ;  for  they  are  without  fault 
before  the  throne  of  God."  This  testimony,  borne  in  re- 
lation to  the  church,  fifteen  hundred  years  after  Christ,  is 
very  consoling  relative  to  the  known  doctrines  and  order 
of  the  Protestants  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They  were 
the  first-fruits  to  God  and  the  Lamb,  as  the  first  ripe  fruits 
X2 


246  LECTURE    XIX. 

offered  in  Israel  of  old  were  an  earnest  of  the  harvest  al 
the  close  of  the  year.  Those  Protestants  were  but  an 
earnest  and  a  miniature  of  the  state  of  the  whole  church 
on  earth  in  the  Millennium.  But  they  were  only  compa- 
ratively faultless  before  the  throne  of  God  ;  not  fully  thus. 
For  '"■  there  is  not  a  just  man  on  earth  that  doeth  good, 
and  sinn^lh  not."  Inspiration  assures  us,  that  they  who 
say  they  have  no  sin,  lie,  and  speak  not  the  truth.  But 
they  were  by  divine  grace  comparatively  pure  ;  and  they 
were  justified  by  grace.  "  Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom 
the  Lord  imputeth  nof  sin."  "  Thou  art  pure,  my  love  ; 
there  is  no  spot  in  thee."  Or,  I  will  behold  none  to  mark 
it  against  thee.  "Israel  was  holiness  unto  the  Lord." 
We  have  thus  a  commanding  view  of  the  Reformation  ;  an 
event  so  interesting  that  we  might  expect  to  find  it  noted 
in  the  prophecies  of  this  book.  No  other  event  can  lay  any 
claim  to  be  viewed  as  a  fulfilment  of  these  five  first 
verses  in  this  chapter.  The  Reformation  has  a  perfect 
claim  to  be  thus  viewed,  both  from  its  chronology,  and 
from  its  accordance  with  the  figures  in  these  verses.  The 
event  is  the  same  with  that  hinted  in  chap.  xii.  7-12  ;  the 
casting  of  the  dragon  from  heaven,  &lc. 

Ver.  6.  And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach 
unto  them  that  dv^ell  on  the  earth,  and  to  every 
nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people, 

7.  Saying  with  a  loud  voice,  Fear  God,  and  give 
glory  to  him  ;  for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come  : 
and  worship  him  that  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and 
the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  waters. 

"  Another  angel !"  as  though  it  were  not  the  first !  but 
it  was  the  first  in  this  series  of  events.  Three  angels 
were  to  fly  in  succession ;  and  this  is  the  first  of  the 
three.  The  Greeks,  in  such  a  case,  would  call  each  of 
the  three,  alios  angelos,  another  angel.  But  in  English, 
the  first  in  such  a  case  would  be  rendered  an  angel.  And 
this  is  all  that  is  here  meant ;  or,  the  first  of  several  an- 
gels. And  we  here  have  a  sublime  figure,  importing  that 
a  missionary  spirit  should,  at  the  period  in  the  text,  or  some 
time  after  the  Reformationi  arise  in  the  church,  denoted 


CHAPTER   XIV»  247 

here  by  the  heaven ;  or  a  general  exertion  should  com- 
mence to  spread  the  gospel  over  the  world. 

To  illustrate  this  passage,  I  will  here  insert  a  disserta- 
tion voluntary,  which  I  wrote  in  May,  1795,  before  the 
formation  of  any  missionary  or  Bible  society  in  Britain,  or 
America,  had  reached  my  ears.  This  I  read  before  my 
association,  various  of  the  members  of  which  are  still 
living  ;  Rev.  Dr.  Burton,  yet  alive,  being  then  moderator. 
It  was  as  follows.  "  Are  we  not  to  expect  that  there  will 
be  a  wonderful  propagation  of  the  gospel  through  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth  before  the  great  and  notable  day  of  the 
Lord,  which  shall  aid  the  opening  of  the  way  for  the  Mil- 
lennium ?"  In  favour  of  the  affirmative,  I  adduced  the  fol- 
lowing ; 

1 .  Rev.  xiv.  6,  7 — "  And  I  saw  another  angel,  <fec." 
(quoting  our  text).* 

This  has,  by  some,  been  applied  to  Martin  Luther,  at 
the  Reformation.  But  did  he  preach  the  gospel  so  exten- 
sively on  earth,  as  is  thought  shall  be  the  case,  in  this 
figure  ?  He  did  not.  And  he  had  no  occasion  to  intro- 
duce his  messages  of  grace  with  the  appeal  to  the  volume 
of  nature,  which  is  found  in  the  text,  and  which  is  most 
appropriate  to  missions  among  the  heathen :  as  though 
the  missionary  should  say,  I  am  come  to  teach  you  the 
knowledge  and  worship  of  God  who  made  yonder  heavens, 
this  earth,  the  sea,  and  the  fountains  of  water.  This  in- 
troduction indicates  missions  to  the  heathen  world.  And 
the  imagery  of  the  text  gives  it  an  extent  not  realized  in 
the  Reformation ;  an  angel  flying  through  tlie  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth,  to  every  nation  and  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people.  And  besides,  the  events  of  the  Refor- 
mation were  given  in  the  commencement  of  this  chapter, 
in  the  appearing  of  Christ  on  his  mount  Zion,  the  church, 
and  instituting  a  new  sealing  time ;  and  not  in  this  sixth 
and  seventh  verses.  And  the  thing  predicted  in  our  text 
is  found  in  other  prophecies. 

2.  We  find  the  same  in  Isa.  xi.  11,  12  ;  which  stands 
connected  with  the  destruction  of  Antichrist,  by  the  rod 
out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  and  the  introduction  of  the  Mil- 
lennium. 

*  This  text  had  never,  to  my  knowledge,  been  applied  to  such  an 
event  as  the  present  spirit  of  missions. 


248  LECTURE   XIX. 

'4 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  in  that  day,  that  the  Lord 
shall  set  his  hand  again,  the  second  time,  to  recover  the 
remnant  of  his  people  which  shall  be  left,  from  Assyria, 
and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pathros,  and  from  Cush,  and 
from  Elam,  and  from  the  isles  of  the  sea.  And  he  shall 
set  np  an  ensign  for  the  nations,  and  shall  assemble  the 
outcasts  of  Israel,  and  gather  together  the  dispersed 
of  Judah,  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth."  These 
events  have  never  yet  been  fulfilled  ;  and  their  fulfilment 
implies  such  an  event  as  is  predicted  in  our  text ;  and  in 
his  setting  up  "  an  ensign  to  the  nations." 

3.  The  same  is  found  in  Isa.  xxvii.  13.  "And  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  at  that  day,  that  the  great  trumpet  shall  be 
blown,  and  they  shall  come  that  are  ready  to  perish  in  the 
land  of  Assyria,  and  the  outcasts  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
shall  worship  the  Lord  in  the  holy  mount  of  Jerusalem." 
The  connexion  and  language  of  this  passage  show  it  to 
convey  the  following  sentiment ;  that,  nearly  connected 
with  the  day  of  the  perdition  of  Antichrist,  given  in  this 
chapter,  the  gospel  (called  the  great  trumpet,  in  allusion 
to  the  trumpet  of  jubilee,  and  other  joyful  trumpets  blown 
in  ancient  Israel),  shall  be  proclaimed  through  the  nations 
as  it  never  was  before  ;  and  a  remnant  of  God's  chosen 
seed,  who  had  been  perishing  in  paganism  over  the  earth, 
shall  be  brought  into  the  circle  and  blessedness  of  the 
gospel  church,  that  they  may  be  hid  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord's  anger,  then  about  to  open  upon  the  world. 

4.  In  Dan.  xii.  1-4  is  the  same.  Michael  (Christ) 
stands  up  to  plead  for  his  people  :  and  a  mystical  resur- 
rection takes  place,  of  both  good  and  bad  characters. 
Many  now  appear,  in  the  Christian  world,  in  the  spirit  of 
former  and  most  eminent  saints  ;  and  many  in  the  spirit 
of  former  and  most  hateful  enemies  of  God.  And  the  fol- 
lowing event  opens, — "  Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and 
knowledge  shall  be  increased."  This  is  said  to  be,  "  at 
the  lime  of  the  end ;"  or  near  the  end  of  the  reign  of  sin. 
Here  is  the  event,  and  at  the  very  period  of  our  text. 
'<  The  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come  !" 

5.  In  Isa.  xl.  3,  is  the  same.  Near  the  return  of  the 
Jews,  when  they  are  to  be  comforted,  as  having  received 
double  from  the  Lord's  hand  for  all  their  sin,  it  is  said, 
"  The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord ;    make  straight  in  the  desert  a 


CHAPTER    XIV.  249 

highway  for  our  God."  This  passage  John  the  Baptist 
applied  to  himself;  which  is  so  far  from  destroying  my 
argument  from  it,  that  it  gives  it  an  emphasis.  It  was 
fulfilled  in  him,  only  as  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit,  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  fulfilled  the  prediction  of  the  outpour- 
ing of  the  spirit,  in  the  last  days,  in  Joel  ii.  28 ;  to  which 
Peter  applied  it,  Acts  ii.  16.  That  promise  in  Joel  stands 
connected  with  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  the  bat- 
tle of  the  great  day  of  God,  in  the  last  days,  as  we  find, 
Joel  iii.  1 ;  "  For,  behold,  in  those  days,  and  at  that  time, 
when  I  shall  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jeru- 
salem, I  will  gather  all  nations,"  &c.,  the  battle  of  the 
great  day  follows.  From  this  we  learn,  that  the  effusion 
of  the  Spirit,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  was  only  an  incipi- 
ent fulfilment,  or  kind  of  type,  of  that  event,  predicted  in 
Joel.  In  like  manner,  this  text,  in  Isaiah  xl.  2,  received 
only  a  primary  or  typical  fulfilment  in  the  ministry  of 
John  the  Baptist.  Its  ultimate  fulfilment  is  to  be  in  a 
general  missionary  effort  of  the  last  days,  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  pagan  lands  ;  an  event  introductory  to  ihe  restora- 
tion of  the  Jews,  and  the  Millennium,  when  (as  it  there 
follows)  "  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together."  John  came  in  the  wilderness 
of  Judea,  to  introduce  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the  flesh: 
and  the  voice  of  missions,  in  our  text,  is  to  cry  in  the  last 
days,  in  pagan  lands,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord ; 
make  straight  in  the  desert  of  pagan  lands  the  highway 
of  Christ  in  his  millennial  kingdom. 

6.  In  Mai.  iv.  5,  is  the  same.  The  battle  of  the  great 
day  of  God,  and  the  Millennium,  are  given  in  this  chapter. 
Then,  as  a  thing  introductory  to  these  events,  we  read, 
"  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the 
great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord."  This  too  (as  was 
the  antecedent  text)  was  applied  to  John  the  Baptist,  as 
preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea ;  but  only  as  a  type 
of  its  fulfilment. 

Its  connexion  with  the  introduction  of  the  Millennium, 
as  in  the  antecedent  verses,  will  show  the  truth  of  this. 
Our  Lord  says,  "  This  was  Elias  who  was  to  come." 
John,  when  interrogated  whether  he  was  Elias,  said,  "  I 
am  not."  He  was  typically  ;  but  not  ultimately.  Elijah 
was  sent  to  confound  the  idolaters  in  Israel,  in  the  days  of 
Ahab.     And  the  missionary  angel  of  the  last  days,  going 


250  lECTURE    XIX. 

forth,  in  the  spirit    and  power  of  Elijah,  will  confound 
idolaters  in  pagan  lands,  in  the  last  days. 

7.  In  Joel  ii.  1,  we  have  the  same  thing.  *'  Blow  ye 
the  trumpet  in  Zion  ;  sound  an  alarm  in  my  holy  moun- 
tain ;  let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  (earth)  tremble  for 
the  day  of  the  Lord,  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand."  This  also 
stands  nearly  connected  with  the  restoration  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  battle  of  the  great  day  ;  as  chap.  iii.  will  show.  We 
have  here,  then,  the  command  of  God  in  his  church  to 
blow  the  trumpet  of  his  gospel  through  the  world,  just 
before  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God. 

8.  Our  Saviour  predicted  the  same,  when  he  said, 
Mark  xiii.  14,  "The  gospel  must  first  be  published 
among  all  nations."  And,  Matt.  xxiv.  14,  "The  gospel 
of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached  in  all  the  world,  for  a 
witness  unto  all  nations ;  and  then  shall  the  end  come." 
(The  dissertation  here  shows,  from  2  Thess.  second 
chapter,  and  Rev.  xvi,  15,  where  the  predicted  coming  of 
Christ  with  which  these  two  predictions  are  connected, 
clearly  includes  his  coming  in  the  destruction  of  Anti- 
christ ;  and  it  then  proceeds  :) 

Just  before  the  destruction  of  Antichrist,  then,  the  gospel 
must  be  preached  in  all  the  earth  for  a  witness  to  the 
world  ;  and  then  shall  the  end  come ;  the  end  of  the 
wicked  ages;  or  of  the  man  of  sin.  The  chosen  of  God 
will  thus  be  gathered  in,  and  others  left  most  fully  without 
excuse.  God's  priests,  blowing  their  trumpets,  must  thus 
surround  the  Jericho  walls  in  pagan  lands  ;  that  those 
pagan  walls  may  fall, — and  the  people  of  God  possess 
their  millennial  Canaan.  Such  means  are  analogous  with 
the  dispensations  of  God.  Christ,  to  take  the  heathen  for 
his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
his  possession,  informs  us  (Psalm  ii.  8,  9),  that  he  will 
"  break  them  with  his  rod  of  iron  ;  and  dash  them  in  pieces 
like  a  potter's  vessel."  But  will  he  do  this,  without 
giving  them  clear  and  full  warning  ?  How  did  God  do  in 
the  case  of  the  old  world  ?  in  the  case  of  Sodom,  and  in 
the  case  of  Nineveh?  We  there  learn  the  kind  economy  of 
Heaven,  in  those  judgments  recorded.  And  when  we  read 
of  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty,  in  which  it 
is  said,  "  The  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be,  at  that  day,  from 
one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto  the  other  end  of  the  earth  ;" 
and  of  the  few  that  are  left  it  is  said,  "  It  shall  be  as  tbo 


CHAPTER    XIV.  251 

shaking  of  an  olive-tree,  here  and  there  one  upon  the  out- 
most fruitful  branches, — they  shall  lift  up  their  voices  and 
sing  for  the  majesty  of  the  Lord  ;"  all  this  is  thought  to 
imply,  that  the  gospel  will  then  recently  have  been  among 
them  ;  and  its  sacred  fires  lit  up  in  every  land  ;  as  does 
the  following  upon  the  same  period — "  From  the  uttermost 
parts  have  we  heard  songs,  even  glory  to  the  righteous." 

Then,  to  the  people  of  God  in  all  nations,  just  before 
the  battle  of  that  great  day,  will  the  following  directions 
apply :  "  Seek  ye  the  Lord,  all  ye  meek  of  the  earth — 
seek  righteousness,  seek  meekness.  It  may  be  ye  may  be 
hid  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's  anger."  "Watch  ye,  and 
pray  always,  that  ye  may  be  accounted  worthy  to  escape 
all  those  things  which  shall  come  to  pass,  and  to  stand 
before  the  Son  of  man."  "  For  as  a  snare  shall  it  come 
on  all  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth."  "  Come, 
my  people,  enter  into  thy  chambers,  shut  thy  doors  about 
thee  ;  hide  thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  moment,  until  the 
indignation  be  overpast.  For  behold,  the  Lord  cometh 
out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for 
their  iniquity ;  the  earth  also  shall  disclose  her  blood,  and 
shall  no  more  cover  her  slain." 

The  dissertation  then  closed  as  follows :  "  Now,  if 
such  a  propagation  of  the  gospel  be  clearly  predicted ; 
surely  the  blessed  event  ought  to  be  known,  and  its  ac- 
complishment to  be  made  a  matter  of  fervent  prayer,  by 
all  the  friends  of  God." 

After  the  reading  of  the  voluntary ;  remarks  were,  as 
usual,  called  for  by  the  moderator  ;  which  were  given  to 
the  following  effect.  "  The  subject,  sir,  is  to  me  new.  I 
never  conceived  of  such  a  thing.  I  know  nothing  about  it." 

Little  did  I  then  conceive  that  it  would  be  my  lot  to  find 
the  event  so  near  ;  and  that  I  should  behold  such  mission- 
ary events  as  have  now,  for  thirty-six  years,  been  passing 
before  the  eyes  of  the  nations. 

No  detailed  account  will  here  be  given  of  the  missionary 
operations  of  our  day,  which  fulfil  our  text,  only  that  they 
commenced  Sept.  1795,  in  a  great  meeting  held  in  Lon- 
don, wliich  was  called  the  second  Pentecost,  on  account 
of  the  wonderful  unanimity  and  missionary  zeal  which 
pervaded  and  astonished  the  meeting  ;  and  from  which  the 
modern  missionary  enterprises  commenced. 

The  angel  in  our  text  has  not  yet  reached  the  bounds 


^%  LECTURE    XIX. 

of  his  destination.  "  Every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  people,"  have  not  yet  heard  the  joyful  sound.  But 
the  event  has  long  been  happily  under  way ;  and  it  has 
spread  far  in  pagan  lands.  The  heavenly  fire  is  taking 
effect,  and  it  is  spreading  its  sacred  blaze  in  the  four 
quarters  of  the  earth. 

Behold  the  sublimity  of  the  figure  in  our  text.  An 
angel  appears  high  in  the  region  of  the  air.  He  flies  in 
a  course  to  go  round  the  world.  To  fallen  man,  with  a 
loud  voice,  he  proclaims  the  glorious  gospel.  And  such 
is  his  voice,  that  it  may  be  distinctly  heard  on  the  surface 
of  the  whole  earth,  over  which  he  moves.  With  majestic 
motion  he  is  wafted  onward,  on  mighty  wings ;  and  no- 
thing earthly  can  impede  his  course.  With  equal  ease 
he  moves  over  earth  and  ocean.  Mountains,  seas,  lakes, 
huge  dreary  wastes,  and  deserts  :  all  that  obstructs  weak 
man,  to  him  is  nothing.  He  speeds  his  flight,  till  all  men 
hear,  or  might  hear  ;  and  learn  the  wonders  of  redeeming 
love.  Here  man  on  earth  is  blessed  with  a  new  era  ;  with 
new  profusions  of  a  Saviour's  grace.  Behold,  lost  man, 
the  wonderful  effects.  Recount  them,  0  ye  saints,  with 
grateful  souls ! 

The  wild  Hottentot  hears,  listens,  and  leaps  from  his 
beastly  degradation.  He  receives  the  Christian  heart, 
and  sits  clothed,  and  in  his  right  mind,  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus.  The  murderous  Sandwich  Islander  hears;  and 
he  burns  his  idols,  and  outstrips  the  Christian.  He 
sanctifies  the  Sabbath ;  renounces  intemperance  and  sen- 
suality ;  and  is  ready  for  every  greater  sacrifice.  Savage 
Americans  hear  ;  and  their  bloody  ferocity  dies ;  while 
civilization  and  holy  love  elevate  their  souls.  Who  the 
great  Spirit  is  they  now  perceive ;  and  learn  the  living 
way  that  leads  to  him.  The  filthy  devotee  of  Bramah 
hears,  and  burns  his  ponderous  god  to  worship  our  Jeho- 
vah. Infidel  Jews,  too,  hear  the  joyful  sound.  The 
blinding  veil,  long  folded  round  their  hearts,  now  slides 
aside  ;  that  grace,  so  long  rejected,  now  may  enter,  and 
melt  the  heart  of  Jewish  adamant.  He  looks  on  Him 
whom  long  his  sins  have  pierced ;  he  looks,  and  mourns 
with  penitential  grief.  Lost  souls  of  Burmah,  hear,  and 
turn  to  God !  And  Ethiopia  lifts  up  her  hand  to  grasp  the 
heavenly  treasure !  Such  are  the  effects  to  be  introduced 
by  the  flight  of  this  angel  of  missions. 


CHAPTER   XIV.  253 

The  chronology  and  the  import  of  the  figure  in  our  text  go 
clearly  to  identify  it  with  the  missionary  events  of  our  day. 
No  antecedent  event  has  ever  amounted  to  it.  Present 
events  bid  fair  to  equal  it :  and  God's  work  will  not  fail 
of  being  effectually  accomplished.  But  the  flight  of  this 
missionary  angel  is  not  to  convert  the  world  at  once,  and 
to  introduce  the  millennial  day.  This  is  an  event  still 
future  of  it ;  and  is  not  to  be  fulfilled  till  after  the  battle 
of  the  great  day  of  God,  which  is  given  at  the  close  of  this 
chapter;  and  between  which,  and  the  flight  of  this  angel 
of  missions,  a  succession  of  interesting  events  are  to  occur, 
as  this  chapter  decides,  and  as  other  prophecies  testify. 
Our  Lord  gives  the  object  of  these  missionary  efforts ; — 
the  gospel  must  first  be  preached  to  all  nations,  for  a  wit- 
ness unto  them ;  and  then  shall  the  end  (the  end  of  the 
dark  and  sinful  ages)  come.  It  is  an  event  connected  with 
the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and  preparatory  to  it,  as  has 
appeared  in  the  prophecies  noted  in  the  dissertation  in- 
serted upon  the  text,  and  in  others  which  might  be  men- 
tioned. In  Isa.  xviii.,  is  a  striking  prediction  of  the  resto- 
ration of  the  Jews.  And,  connected  with  this  event,  it  is 
said,  verse  3,  "  All  ye  inhabitants  of  the  world,  and 
dwellers  on  the  earth,  see  ye,  when  he  lifteth  up  an  en- 
sign upon  the  mountains ;  and  when  he  bloweth  the  trum- 
pet, hear  ye  !"  "  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  and 
dwellers  on  the  earth,"  then,  must  hear  the  call  for 
their  attention,  and  see  the  ensign  upon  the  mountains  of 
the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  and  hear  the  blowing  of  the 
gospel  trumpet,  near  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Jews.  This  accounts  for  the  stroke  in  Rom.  xi.  25  (on 
the  same  event),  relative  to  the  blindness  of  Israel,  which 
is  to  last  "until  the  fulness  of  the  gentiles  be  come  in  ! 
and  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved."  As  though  he  had  said, 
when  the  fulness  of  the  gentiles,  or  the  mass  of  the  gen- 
tile nations  shall  have  heard  the  gospel  preached  for  a 
witness  unto  them,  and  some  in  every  land  (as  first  fruits), 
shall  be  gathered  into  the  fold  ;  then,  shall  the  ancient 
people  of  God  also  be  brought,  and  the  veil  shall  be  taken 
off  from  their  hearts.  They  shall  then  turn  to  the  Lord, 
and  be  grafted  into  iheir  own  olive-tree.  All  this  implies 
the  very  event  predicted  under  the  sublime  figure  of  the 
flight  of  the  angel  of  missions,  in  our  text. 

This  angel  testifies,  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
Y 


2S4  LECTURE    XIX. 

"The  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come."  This  flight  com- 
menced at  the  early  part  of  the  hour  of  that  unprecedented 
judgment  of  the  French  revolution,  in  1789;  the  wars  and 
horrors  of  which  terrified  the  world  ;  and  which  may  be 
viewed  as  a  new  era  of  judgments,  which  shall  lead  on  to 
the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God.  And  indeed,  the  battle 
of  the  great  day  itself,  may  be  said  to  be  then,  as  it  were, 
within  an  hour !  As  though  the  angel  should  say,  that 
great  battle  is  now  near  ;  and  the  great  judgments  which 
lead  to  it,  are  now  thundering  through  the  nations.  This 
is  a  warning,  to  be  given  by  the  angel  of  missions,  as  we 
learn,  Joel  ii.  1;  "Blow  ye  the  trumpet  in  Zion;  sound  an 
alarm  in  my  holy  mountains  (or  through  the  midst  of  the 
ecclesiastical  heaven,  as  in  our  text)  ;  let  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  land  (earth)  tremble  for  the  day  of  the  Lord, 
for  it  is  nigh  at  hand." 

Ver.  8.  And  there  followed  another  angel,  saying, 
Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  that  great  city,  because 
she  made  all  nations  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  her  fornication. 

A  second  angel  flies  through  the  midst  of  the  mystical 
or  ecclesiastical  heaven,  the  church  on  earth,  proclaiming 
the  fall  of  papal  Babylon.  This  is  an  event  antecedent  to, 
and  distinct  from  the  battle  of  the  great  day ;  as  that  is 
given  in  the  closing  part  of  this  chapter,  after  the  event  in 
this  text,  and  after  several  subsequent  events  of  great  in- 
terest, which  intervene  between  this  proclamation  of  the 
second  angel,  and  that  battle.  The  event  here  proclaimed 
is  the  falling  of  the  papal  see  from  being  a  predominant 
power,  and  thus  constituting  Babylon.  From  being  such 
a  predominant  power,  it  fell,  when  a  vial  of  wrath  was 
poured  upon  his  seat  (throne),  and  filled  his  kingdom  with 
darkness;  chap.  xvi.  10.  This  was  the  event  given  in 
chap.  X.  in  the  first  general  division  of  this  prophecy ; 
and  in  chap,  xviii.  in  the  second  general  division ;  where 
it  is  said,  "  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  and  is  become  the 
habitation  of  devils,  and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and 
a  cage  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird :"  precisely  as 
was  exhibited  in  France,  in  and  after  the  French  revolu- 
tion of  1789.     The  notice  of  mankind  is  by  this  second 


CHAPTER    XIV.  255 

angel  called  to  this  event,  as  being  a  notable  sign  of  the 
times,  which  assures  us  of  a  train  of  collateral,  and  of 
subsequent  events,  which  will  lead  to  amazing  results, 
and  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  This  decisive  battle 
is  manifestly  future  of  the  fall  of  papal  Babylon  in  our 
text;  as  is  shown  in  this  14th  chapter,  the  battle  being  at 
the  close  of  it;  as  is  decided  also  in  chap,  xviii.  21; 
where,  after  the  fall  of  Babylon  (there  noted  in  verse  2), 
we  read,  "  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone,  like  a 
great  millstone,  and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying.  Thus  with 
violence  shall  the  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down, 
and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all."  Here  then,  after  the 
faiUng  of  papal  Babylon  from  its  predominant  height, 
and  the  filling  of  its  kingdom  with  darkness;  as  chap, 
xvi.  10 ;  a  Babylon  still  exists,  to  be  cast  at  a  time  then 
future,  as  a  millstone  into  the  depth  of  the  sea.  This  is 
the  power  of  infidelity,  known  as  the  beast  from  the  bot- 
tomless pit.  This  beast  became  the  reigning  Babylon, 
when  it  rose,  and  hurled  the  papal  power  from  its  predomi- 
nant station.  This  beast,  with  the  subordinate  remains  of 
popery,  will  go  into  perdition  at  the  battle  of  that  great 
day  of  God. 

Very  little  practical  improvement  has  been  made  in 
Zion,  of  God's  thus  having  taken  the  papal  Babylon  in 
hand,  in  her  fall,  in  the  bursting  out  of  the  Voltaire  sys- 
tem of  infidelity  and  licentiousness,  given  in  chap.  x.  and 
xvhi.  But  this  fact,  with  its  train  of  synchronical  and 
subsequent  events,  demands  particular  notice  and  im- 
provement. And  a  call  to  this  is  the  commission  of  this 
second  angel. 

The  prophecies,  which  relate  to  this  event,  to  the  power 
of  infidelity  of  the  last  days,  the  beast  which  ascendeth 
out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  goeth  into  perdition,  are  of 
deep  interest  to  the  church.  These  things  lead  on  a  train 
of  amazing  events.  Warnings  are  given  of  them  which  God 
will  not  suffer  long  to  remain  carelessly  overlooked.  The 
warning  will  then  be  heard,  and  obeyed,  "  Come  and  see  !" 
"  Come,  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord  ;  what  desolations 
he  hath  made,  and  is  going  to  make  in  the  earth  !"  Some- 
thing will  call  the  attention  of  the  church  to  these  things. 
The  signs  of  the  times  will  be  noted,  that  due  improvp-' 
ment  of  them  may  be  made,  "•> 


256  LECTURE    XIX. 

Ver.  9.  And  the  third  angel  followed  them,  saying 
with  a  loud  voice,  If  any  man  worship  the  beast  and 
his  image,  and  receive  Jiis  mark  in  his  forehead,  or  in 
his  hand, 

10.  The  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  God,  which  is  poured  out  without  mixture  into  the 
cup  of  his  indignation ;  and  he  shall  be  tormented 
with  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the  holy 
angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb : 

11.  And  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up 
for  ever  and  ever :  and  they  have  no  rest  day  nor 
night,  who  worship  the  beast  and  his  image,  and 
whosoever  receiveth  the  mark  of  his  name. 

The  signs  of  the  times,  noted  in  the  warning  of  the 
second  angel,  will  soon  furnish  a  third  angel  with  his 
message ;  which  is  to  testify  the  impending  judgments  of 
Heaven  against  all  the  subjects  of  the  grand  scheme  of 
infidelity  then  exposed,  and  of  popery,  which  God  has 
thus  taken  in  hand.  It  will  then  be  clearly  understood, 
that  the  blasphemous  system  of  the  Voltaire  infidelity; 
and  that  of  Jesuitism — the  sinking  papacy  ;  as  well  as  all 
the  efforts  of  the  licentiousness  of  the  day,  are  of  one  and 
the  same  diabolical  family.  And  the  warning  voice,  in 
chap.  xvi.  13,  14,  relative  to  the  three  unclean  spirits  like 
frogs,  spirits  of  devils  working  wonders,  coming  from  the 
mouths  of  the  dragon,  the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet, 
going  forth  unto  the  kingdoms  of  all  the  world,  to  gather 
them  to  the  battle,  will  then  come  to  be  well  understood 
by  the  children  of  Zion.  And  the  warning  voice  in  our 
text  will  go  forth  with  power,  calling  on  men  to  flee  from 
all  sinful  affinity  with  them.  The  call  of  Heaven  will 
now  be  urged  upon  the  conscience,  "  Come  out  of  her,  my 
people,  that  ye  be  not  partakers  of  her  sins  ;  and  that  ye 
receive  not  of  her  plagues."  "  Ho,  ho,  come  forth  and 
flee  from  the  land  of  the  north ;  deliver  thyself,  O  Zion, 
that  dwellest  with  the  daughters  of  Babylon."  And  the 
warning,  said  in  the  text  to  be  with  a  loud  voice,  is 
enforced  with  denunciations  tlie  most  terrible.  Let  them 
be.  re-examined,  and  well  remembered. 
"  ijvents,  at  the  time  of  the  flight  of  this  third  angel,  will 


CHAPTER   XIV.  257 

be  found  to  be  such  as  both  to  justify  and  demand  the 
special  warnings  here  given.  This  will  appear,  if  we 
consult  the  warnings  given  in  prophetic  descriptions  of 
the  chambers  of  imagery,  in  Ezek.  viii. ;  and  of  the  same 
characters  of  the  last  days,  in  2  Pet.  chap,  ii.,  and  iii.  1-5  ; 
and  in  the  epistle  of  Jude.  Relative  to  such  characters  of 
the  last  days,  the  words  of  Moses  to  Israel,  concerning 
Korah  and  his  impious  company,  will  come  most  fitly  in 
point ;  "  Depart,  I  pray  you,  from  the  tents  of  those  wicked 
men."  Jude  says  of  these  infidels  of  the  last  days,  "  Wo 
unto  them,  for  they  have  gone  in  the  way  of  Cain,  and 
ran  greedily  after  the  error  of  Balaam,  and  perished  in 
the  gainsaying  of  Korah."  And  he  says  of  the  vengeance 
then  just  ready  to  light  on  them,  "  Even  as  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  and  the  cities  about  them  giving  themselves 
over,  are  set  forth  for  an  example,  suffering  the  vengeance 
of  eternal  fire."  This,  one  would  think,  is  the  parent  pas- 
sage of  the  warning  in  our  text,  given  relative  to  the  same 
impious  characters  of  the  last  days. 

Most  happy  is  every  new  appearance  of  Christ  on  his 
earthly  Mount  Zion.  That  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  that 
in  the  revolution  in  the  Roman  empire  from  paganism  to 
Christianity  ;  that  in  the  subsequent  season  of  peace  in  the 
empire,  when  144,000  were  said  to  be  sealed  in  their  fore- 
heads for  salvation  ;  that  in  the  first  verse  of  this  chapter. 
The  sealing  times  of  the  present  age,  especially  in  our 
States,  have  been  rich  and  wonderful.  We  behold  in  them 
a  degree  of  a  glorious  fulfilment  of  the  following  ancient 
promise,  relative  to  this  very  day,  "  When  the  enemy  shall 
come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  his 
standard  against  them."  This  is  an  event  most  cheering 
to  the  children  of  God, — confounding  to  the  enemy ;  and 
which  baffles  the  confident  calculations  of  Antichrist. 
Even  the  papal  power,  towering  for  many  centuries  among 
the  stars,  and  exulting,  "  I  sit  a  queen,  and  know  no  sor- 
row ;"  when  the  Lamb  of  God  appears  on  his  mount 
Zion  in  the  Reformation, — must  leave  its  zenith,  and  com- 
mence its  fatal  plunge.  When  violent  persecutors,  like 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  are  smitten  to  the  ground,  and  turned  to 
support  the  gospel  which  they  had  laboured  to  destroy ; 
the  enemy  are  deeply  troubled  at  such  appearances  of 
Christ  on  his  mount  Zion !  Such,  0  Zion,  is  the  Captain 
of  your  salv  ation. 

Y2 


35d  LECTURE    XIX. 

Let  the  faith  of  the  present  Christian  church  be  invig- 
orated by  the  testimony  borne  from  heaven  to  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  doctrines  and  order  of  the  Reformation ; 
*'  These  are  they  that  follow^  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he 
goeth !"  "  They  are  virgins.  They  are  without  fauk  before 
the  throne  of  God  !"  In  these  days  of  error,  when  many 
will  not  endure  sound  doctrine  ;  but,  after  their  own  lusts, 
heap  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears,  and  turn 
away  their  ears  from  the  truth,  and  are  turned  unto  fables; 
let  us  abide  closely  by  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation 
thus  divinely  sanctioned.  Let  us  inquire  for  the  old  way, 
the  good  path,  and  walk  therein.  The  command  is  now 
of  deep  interest ;  "  that  ye  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints.  For  there  are  men  crept  in 
unawares, — turning  the  grace  of  God  (the  doctrines  of 
grace)  into  lasciviousness." 

This  generation  have  seen  the  fall  of  papal  Babylon  from 
her  predominant  height,  in  which  she  had  reigned  over  the 
kings  of  the  earth.  The  throne  of  that  kingdom  has  been 
overturned,  and  filled  with  darkness.  And  though  it  is 
struggling,  and  the  dying  throes  of  the  monster  may 
wound  some  of  the  people  of  God  ;  yet  its  certain  fall,  its 
descent  to  the  burning  lake,  is  infallible.  These  things 
mark  a  most  interesting  period  to  Zion.  Papal  Babylon 
is  already  fallen,  and  is  falling ;  and  the  events  connected 
with  the  incipient  stages  of  its  fall,  are  now  visible  before 
the  eyes  of  the  nations. 

Blessed  be  God  that  we  live  to  see  the  flight  of  the 
angel  of  missions.  May  our  prayers  and  alms  pursue  the 
heavenly  object.  Wo  will  be  to  all,  to  whom  the  follow- 
ing warning  from  heaven  applies :  "  Curse  ye  Meroz, 
saith  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ;  Curse  ye  bitterly  the  inha- 
bitants thereof;  because  they  came  not  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty." 

Behold  the  following  wonderful  providence  of  Him  who 
came  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil !  Just  as  the  blas- 
phemous plan  of  Voltaire  seemed  triumphant  as  being  about 
to  banish  the  gospel  from  the  earth ;  the  angel  of  missions 
starts  from  heaven  to  go  round  the  world,  to  proclaim  this 
blessed  cause  to  every  nation  and  tongue.  Most  easily 
can  our  Lord  confound  Satan  and  his  prime  instruments. 
At  the  very  period  marked  out  for  its  ruin,  the  cause  of 
salvation  arises  from  its  depression,  like  the  healed  cripple 


CHAPTER   XIV.  259 

at  the  gate  of  the  temple,  made  perfectly  whole ; — walking, 
leaping,  praising  God,  and  spreading  its  triumphant  wings 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  same  press  which  the 
arch- atheist  Voltaire  had  employed,  at  Fernay,  to  fill  his 
regions  with  blasphemy,  became  happily  employed  in  dis- 
seminating the  word  of  life  in  those  same  regions.  And 
the  hint  was  taken  from  the  subtle  plan  of  Voltaire  and 
the  devil,  relative  to  filling  the  world  with  cheap  blasphem- 
ous tracts,  to  spread  over  the  world  tracts  of  gospel  truth 
and  salvation,  after  Voltaire  had  gone  to  his  own  place  ! 

Your  ark,  O  Zion,  will  outride  the  storm ;  while  the 
antichristian  world  will  sink  in  the  deluge  of  eternal 
wrath.  Such  is  the  evidence  which  attends  the  divinity  of 
the  ancient  prophecies  ; — and  hence  of  the  whole  word  of 
God  in  view  of  the  signs  of  the  times  of  the  present  day. 


LECTURE    XX. 


REVELATION   XIV. 


Ver.  12.  Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints ;  here 
are  they  that  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
the  faith  of  Jesus. 

13.  And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven,  saying  unto 
me,  W^rite,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labours  ;  and  their  v^^orks 
do  follow  them. 

In  the  preceding  verses,  solemn  warnings  were  given 
against  all  aflinity  with  the  antichristian  systems  of  the 
day.  This,  as  might  have  been  expected  from  the  depravity 
of  the  human  heart,  wakes  up  the  ire  and  reaction  implied 
in  the  text,  which  try  the  patience  and  faith  of  the  people 
of  God ;  insomuch  that  a  great  voice  from  heaven  testi- 
fies, that  blessed  are  the  dead  who  have  died  in  the  Lord ; 


260  LECTURE    XX. 

they  being  now  out  of  the  reach  of  persecution.  This 
general  assertion  is  true  in  all  ages.  But  it  is  designed 
to  have  a  chronological  and  peculiar  application  here ; 
"  from  henceforth ;"  or  from  the  commencement  of  these 
trying  days.  The  truth  of  these  perils  of  the  times  is 
further  enforced  by  what  follows, — the  appearance  of 
Christ  on  a  white  cloud  with  his  sharp  weapon  of  indig- 
nation, reaping  his  harvest  and  gathering  his  vine  of  the 
earth.  These  sacred  passages  imply  the  terrors  of  the 
times,  as  do  other  prophecies  relative  to  the  same  period : 
such  as  the  bitterness  of  the  little  book,  Rev.  x. ;  the 
slaying  of  the  witnesses,  chap.  xi. ;  the  three  unclean 
spirits  collecting  the  world  to  the  final  battle,  chap.  xvi. ; 
and  various  other  predictions  of  the  same.  There  is  some- 
thing natural  in  this  trial  of  the  people  of  God  implied  at 
that  time.  The  wicked  hate  and  contend  with  their  re- 
provers, which  has  been  a  great  cause  of  the  persecutions 
of  the  church  in  past  ages.  "  The  world  hateth  me, 
because  I  testify  of  it  that  the  deeds  thereof  are  evil."  "  I 
hate  him  (said  Ahab  of  the  pious  Micaiah),  for  he  never 
prophesieth  good  of  me  ;  but  evil."  "  They  hate  him 
that  rebuketh  in  the  gates."  And  when  the  wicked  pre- 
dominant powers  of  Antichrist  shall  find  themselves 
reproved,  as  is  predicted  of  the  second  and  third  angels, 
in  the  last  lecture,  and  especially  the  third, — so  emphati- 
cally thundering  the  eternal  fire  of  God's  wrath  against  all 
who  have  the  mark  of  the  beast,  or  of  his  image;  they  would 
of  course  become  outrageous.  And,  when  supported  by 
numbers  and  influence,  and  by  hosts  of  false  teachers ; 
their  rage  may  be  expected  to  become  formidable  and 
bloody.  And  God  only  knows  what  they  may  be  led  to 
undertake,  and  to  efl'ect.  The  fulfilment  will,  in  due 
time,  give  the  true  comment  upon  the  passages. 

Ver.  14.  And  I  looked,  and  behold  a  white  cloud, 
and  upon  the  cloud  one  sat  like  unto  the  Son  of  man, 
having  on  his  head  a  golden  crown,  and  in  his  hand 
a  sharp  sickle. 

15.  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple, 
crying  with  a  loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the 
cloud,  Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap :  for  the  time 
is  come  for  thee  to  reap :  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth 
is  ripe. 


CHAPTER    XIV.  261 

16.  And  he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his 
sickle  on  the  earth ;  and  the  earth  was  reaped. 

17.  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple 
which  is  in  heaven,  he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle. 

18.  And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  altar, 
which  had  power  over  fire  :  and  cried  with  a  loud 
cry  to  him  that  had  the  sharp  sickle,  saying,  Thrust 
in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine 
of  the  earth;  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe. 

19.  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the 
earth,  and  gathered  the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it 
into  the  great  wine-press  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

20.  And  the  wine-press  was  trodden  without  the 
city,  and  blood  came  out  of  the  wine-press,  even 
unto  the  horse  bridles,  by  the  space  of  a  thousand 
and  six  hundred  furlongs. 

All  this  confirms  the  solemn  indications  noted  in  the 
preceding  verses.  Such  rage  of  the  enemy  against  the 
church,  soon  brings  down  the  Captain  of  her  salvation, 
armed  for  judgment,  to  examine  the  contest,  and  to  give  to 
it  such  a  turn  and  decision,  as  his  word,  his  cause,  and 
his  faithfulness  may  require.  When  Zion  is  in  trouble, 
her  King  is  near.  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless  ;  I 
will  come  unto  you."  "  I  will  be  a  wall  of  fire  round 
about."  "  In  that  day  sing  unto  her,  a  vineyard  of  red 
wine;  I  the  Lord  do  keep  it.  I  will  water  it  every  mo- 
ment. Lest  any  hurt  it,  I  will  keep  it  night  and  day." 
Jesus  Christ  now  comes  on  his  white  cloud  of  victory 
and  triumph,  having  on  his  head  his  golden  crown,  as 
about  to  vindicate  his  kingdom.  He  holds  in  his  hand  his 
implement  for  the  collection  of  his  harvest  and  vintage  ; 
and  this  implement  is  noted  as  "  sharp.''''  He  comes  fully 
prepared  for  his  work,  as  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords.  His  enemies,  through  antichristian  lands,  having 
been  long  treasuring  up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath, — 
their  measure  will  now  be  found  to  be  full.  By  new  efibrts 
of  deadly  malignity,  it  will  be  found  that  they  will  have 
given  the  finishing  touch  to  their  meetness  for  perdition ! 
The  volcano,  it  will  appear,  has  long  been  ready  to  burst. 
And  now  its  breaking  forth  will  come  suddenly  as  in  a 
moment,  and  the  double  figure  of  the  harvest  and  the  vin- 


362  LECTURE   XX. 

tage  uniting,  will  give   to  the   event  its  long  predicted 
"  decision^''''  fatal  to  all  the  camps  of  the  contending  foe. 

Our  text  is  one  of  the  predictions  of  the  battle  of  that 
great  day  of  God  Almighty.  It  alludes  to  several  of 
the  ancient  predictions  of  that  day :  particularly  to  the 
fatal  treading  of  the  wine-press,  in  Isai.  Ixiii.  1-6,  and  to 
the  decisive  harvest  and  vintage  of  the  same  event,  in  Joel 
iii.  1,  2,  9-17.  In  the  process  of  this  final  decisive  scene, 
we  find  something  in  the  agencies  employed  very  inter- 
esting. After  the  description  of  the  Son  of  man  on  his 
white  cloud,  it  is  said,  "And  another  angel  came  out  of 
the  temple,  crying  with  a  loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the 
cloud,  Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap  :  for  the  time  is  come 
for  thee  to  reap,  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe." 
Who  can  this  angel  be,  directing  Christ  to  his  work  of 
judgment?  Did  we  ever  find  an  angel  in  heaven  thus 
employed  ?  They  fly  in  swift  obedience  to  Christ :  but 
do  they  ever  undertake  to  direct  him  ?  Surely  not !  The 
language  of  this  text  must  be  the  language  of  prayer ; 
showing  that  Christ  accomplishes  this  work  of  judgment 
in  answer  to  prayer.  But  whose  prayer  1 — that  of  angels, 
or  of  saints  on  earth  ?  Surely  the  latter,  as  may  be  shown. 
This  angel  then,  who  calls  on  Christ  to  thrust  in  his  sword, 
and  reap,  must  be  a  representation  of  Zion,  imploring  by 
her  gospel  ministry,  and  members.  The  seven  epistles  to 
the  seven  churches  are  addressed  to  the  angel  (the  minis- 
try) of  each  church.  And  the  angel  whom  John  was 
about  mistakingly  to  M^orship,  speaks  of  himself  as  one 
of  his  fellow-servants,  the  prophets.  In  Rev.  xv.  7,  one 
of  the  symbols  of  the  gospel  ministry  is  presented  as  giving 
into  the  hands  of  the  seven  angels  their  seven  vials  of 
wrath  ;  of  which  the  judgment  in  our  text  is  one,  and  the 
last.  That  fact  gives  a  clew  to  the  business  of  the  angel 
in  this  text.  The  plain  sense,  no  doubt,  is  this  ;  (which 
fully  accords  with  the  whole  Bible)  that  at  the  awful  crisis 
under  consideration,  Zion,  led  by  her  gospel  ministry,  will 
pour  her  addresses  into  the  ear  of  this  same  Saviour,  pre- 
sented on  the  white  cloud ; — even  as  Moses,  at  the  Red 
Sea,  in  the  height  of  that  distress  (which  was  a  type  of 
the  very  scene  of  distress  in  our  text),  "  cried  untolkhe 
Lord"  for  help.  Jesus  Christ  now  dashes  the  powers 
of  Antichrist,  as  with  his  rod  of  iron,  in  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  the  saints.     He  does,  accordingly,  in  this  very 


CHAPTER   XIV.  263 

book,  represent  the  saints  as  doing  this  very  work  of  judg- 
ment.    Rev.  ii.  26,  27  ;  "  He  that  overcometh,  to  him  will 
I  give  power  over  the  nations.     And  he  shall  rule  them 
with  a  rod  of  iron ;  as  the  vessels  of  a  potter  shall  they 
be  broken  in  shivers ;  even  as  I  received  of  my  Father." 
Here  is  the  very  event  in  our  text ;  and  it  is  noted  as  being 
done  by  saints.     It  is  done  by  Christ  at  the  prayers  of  the 
saints.     This  therefore  explains  the  figure  of  a  messenger 
from  the  temple,  saying  to  Christ,  "  Thrust  in  thy  sickle." 
The  dangers  of  the  times  will  then  urge  the  ministers  and 
people  of  God  to  most  importunate  prayers  ;  such  as  the 
following : — "  Is  it  not  time,  Lord,  for  thee  to  work,  for 
men  have  made  void  ihy  law?"     "Let  God  arise  ;  let  his 
enemies  be  scattered  ;  let  them  that  hate  him  flee  before 
him !     As  smoke  is  driven  away ;  so  drive  them  away. 
As  wax  melteth  before  the  fire ;  so  let  the  wicked  perish 
at  the  presence  of  the  Lord."    These,  and  similar  prayers, 
Inspiration  puts  into  the  mouth  of  the  saints  at  just  such  a 
time  and  occasion  as   in   the  text.     And  they  perfectly 
accord  with  the  prayer  of  the  symbolic  messenger  in  our 
text ;  "Thrust  in  thy  sickle  and  reap  ;  for  the  time  is  come 
for  thee  to  reap,  for  the  harvest  of  the   earth  is  ripe." 
Zion  will  then  urgently  cry  for  deliverance,  which  Christ 
will  give  in  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God,  in  our  text. 
This  explanation  of  the  request  of  the  symbolic  angel 
under  consideration,  receives  further  confirmation  from  the 
fact,  that  that,  and  other  works  of  judgment  upon  the  ene- 
mies of  Zion,  are  repeatedly  ascribed  to  the  people  of 
God.     Thus  the  two  witnesses  have  power  to  shut  heaven 
"  that  it  rain  not  in  the  days  of  their  prophecies ;  and  to 
smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues,  as  oft  as  they  will." 
The  psalmist  says  of  the  saints,  "  Let  the  high  praises  of 
God  be  in  their  mouth,  and  a  two-edged  sword  in  their 
hand,  to  execute  vengeance  upon  the  heathen,  and  punish- 
ments upon  the  people :  to  bind  their  kings  with  chains, 
and  their  nobles  with  fetters  of  iron  ;  to  execute  upon  them 
the  judgment  written :  this  honour  have  all  the  saints." 
Certainly  then,  in  so  great  an  extremity,  as  the  church 
will  be  in  our  text,  we  might  expect  some  special  notice 
would  be  given  of  this  her  power  with  God  against  her 
enemies  ;  alluding  to  the  power  of  her  prayers  when  in  the 
depth  of  affliction  from  the  rage  of  Antichrist, — beseeching 


264  LECTURE    XX. 

Christ  to  fulfil  his  word,  in  pleading  his  own  cause. 
"  Shall  not  God  avenge  his  own  elect,  who  cry  unto  him 
day  and  night,  though  he  bear  long  with  them  ?  I  tell  you 
(says  our  Saviour)  he  will  avenge  them  speedily."  This 
language,  as  explanatory  of  our  text,  is  abundant  in  the 
word  of  God.  "  When  the  Lord  shall  build  up  Zion,  he 
will  appear  in  his  glory :  he  will  regard  the  prayer  of  the 
destitute,  and  not  despise  their  prayer." 

In  answer  to  this  request,  Christ  thrusts  in  his  sickle, 
and  the  earth  is  reaped.  Another  angel  is  then  presented 
with  a  sharp  sickle,  who  is  probably  an  instrument  of 
judgment.  God  performs  his  works  of  judgment  by  the 
ministry  of  angels.  He  did  thus  of  old,  and  probably  will 
do  it  in  the  battle  of  that  great  day.  In  the  cups  of  wrath, 
the  seventh  angel  pours  out  his  vial,  to  produce  the  very 
scene  under  consideration.  The  hosts  of  angels  are  in 
other  prophetic  descriptions  of  this  very  scene,  represented 
as  being  present ;  "  And  all  the  armies  of  heaven  followed 
him  (Christ)  upon  white  horses."  Of  the  same  it  is  again 
said,  "  Thousands  thousands  ministered  unto  him ;  and 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him." 
*'  Thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down,  0  Lord." 

Another  angel  comes  from  the  altar  having  power  over 
fire,  and  directs  his  angelic  associate  to  thrust  in  his  sharp 
sickle,  and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth, 
with  her  grapes  fully  ripe.  The  deed  is  done.  How  far 
the  element  of  literal  fire  may  be  made  to  have  a  terrible 
agency  in  the  events  of  that  day,  when  the  cities  of  the 
nations  shall  fall ;  time  alone  will  decide.  That  one  of 
the  angelic  instruments  of  the  terrors  of  that  day  should 
be  said  to  appear,  '■'' having  jmwer  over  fire,''''  may  indicate 
fatal  conflagrations  in  antichristian  cities.  Whether  this 
will  be  the  case,  or  not, — Inspiration  says  of  the  rage  of 
that  day,  "  The  fire  of  thine  enemies  shall  devour  them." 
The  wine-press  is  now  trodden  ;  and  behold  the  extensive 
effect.  Blood  flows  forth  as  high  as  the  horses'  bridles, 
for  the  space  of  two  hundred  miles.  This  is  a  figure  ;  but 
one  of  amazing  import.  See  blood  flowing  from  a  centre 
of  destruction,  and  filling  a  region  of  two  hundred  miles ; 
and  as  high  as  horses  usually  carry  their  heads.  This 
would  be  a  sea  of  blood  indeed. 

This  treading  of  the  wine-press  is  "  without  the  city.*' 


CHAPTER   XIV.  265 

Or,  the  commencement  of  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of 
God,  is  somewhere  out  of  the  bounds  of  the  old  Roman 
earth.  It  is  not  to  be  finished  there :  no,  the  regions  of 
Antichrist  (properly  so  called)  will  not  thus  escape.  The 
infinhe  terror  will  roll  through  every  antichristian  land. 
All  that  belong  to  the  beast,  or  have  his  mark,  shall  sink. 
All  that  partake  of  his  sins  shall  receive  of  his  plagues. 
But  the  tremendous  scene  commences  ^'■■without  the  city.^ 
Some  general  motive  will  lead  the  hostile  powers  of  the 
day  to  concentrate  their  forces  in  some  region  "  without  the 
city'''  of  the  old  Roman  world,  or  papal  territories.  And 
to  this  the  prophecies  do  expressly  agree.  Various  of 
them  present  Palestine  as  the  seat  of  this  event  in  its  first 
opening.  In  Joel  iii.  1,  2,  12  (which  is  the  parent  text  of 
the  harvest  and  the  vintage  explained),  the  scene  is  a 
gathering  of  all  nations  to  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  when 
God  shall  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusa- 
lem. The  same  is  expressly  decided  in  the  38th  and 
39th  chapters  of  Ezekiel.  There  Gog  and  his  bands 
perish  in  an  expedition  against  God's  ancient  people, 
restored  from  all  nations  to  the  land  of  their  fathers.  In 
Zech.  xii.  2,  3,  and  xiv.  1-3,  we  have  the  same.  The 
gathering  of  all  nations  is  at  Jerusalem.  In  Rev.  xvi.  16 
is  the  same  :  they  are  gathered  to  Armageddon.  These 
passages  may  have  also  a  mystical  import.  But  we  have 
no  right  to  exclude  from  them  all  (if  from  any)  a  literal 
import.  The  two  hundred  miles'  length  of  the  sea  of 
blood  to  be  shed,  may  be  designed  to  be  bounded  by  the 
two  hundred  miles'  length  of  the  Holy  Land.  And  the 
figure  seems  well  to  accord  with  the  description  in  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  and  xxxix,  of  the  slaughter  of  Gog  and  his  bands 
upon  the  mountains  of  Israel. 

But  wherever  the  battle  (the  harvest,  the  vintage) 
commences,  it  will  not  fail  to  sweep  over  the  antichristian 
world.  Jeremiah  assures  us,  "The  slain  of  the  Lord 
shall  be  at  that  day,  from  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto 
the  other  end  of  the  earth."  In  Zeph.  God  says,  "  I  will 
gather  the  nations,  and  assemble  the  kingdoms,  to  pour 
upon  them  mine  indignation,  even  all  my  fierce  anger  ;  for 
all  the  earth  shall  be  devoured  with  the  fire  of  my 
jealousy."  In  Isaiah  the  scene  is  abundantly  given,  as 
having  a  general  and  most  fatal  extent.  "  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  transgressors  and  of  the  sinners  shall  be 
Z 


266  LECTURE    XX. 

together."     *'  He  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his 
mouth ;  and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the 
wicked."     "  I  will  punish  the  world  for  their  evil,  and  the 
wicked  for  their  iniquity  ;  and  will  cause  the  arrogancy  of 
the  proud  to  cease."     "  The  nations  shall  rush  like  the 
rushing  of  mighty  waters :  but  God  shall  rebuke  them, 
and  they  shall  flee  far  off", — and  shall  be  chased  as  the 
chaff  of  the  mountains."     "  Behold,  the  Lord  maketh  the 
earth  empty,  and  maketh  it  waste,  and  turneth  it  upside 
down."     "The  earth  also  is  defiled  under  the  inhabitants 
thereof."     "  Therefore  hath  the  curse  devoured  the  earth ; 
and  they  that  dwell  therein  are  desolate ;  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  are  burned,  and  few  men  left."     "  For  behold, 
the  Lord  comeih  forth  out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  world  for  their  iniquity  :  the  earth  also  shall 
disclose  her  blood,  and  shall  no  more  cover  her  slain." 
"Now  therefore  be  ye  not  mockers, lest  your  bands  be  made 
strong,  for  I  have  heard  from  the  Lord  of  hosts  a  con- 
sumption determined  upon  the  whole  earth."     "  Behold, 
the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both,  with  wrath  and 
fierce  anger,  to  lay  the  earth  desolate,  and  to  destroy  the 
sinners  thereof  out  of  it."     These  are  a  few  of  the  many 
denunciations  in  this  sublime  prophecy  which  all  relate 
to  the  same  period  and  event ;  and  which  give  it  a  most 
general  and  decisive  efl^ect.     The  shorter  prophets  abound 
with  the  same  event,  and  give  it  as  no  less  general  and 
fatal  to  all  the  hostile  enemies  of  God.      One  passage 
more  from  the  Old  Testament  shall  be  given  as  a  speci- 
men for  many.     The  last  chapter  of  it  commences  thus : 
"  For  behold  the  day  comeih  that  shall  burn  as  an  oven ; 
and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly,  shall  be 
as  stubble ;  and  that  day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up, 
saith  the  Lord,  and  shall   leave  them  neither  root   nor 
branch.     But  unto  you  that  fear  my  name,  shall  the  Sun 
of  righteousness  arise  with  healing  in  his  wings ;  and  ye 
shall  go  forth,  and  grow  up  as  calves  of  the  stall.     And  ye 
shall  tread  down  the  wicked,  and  they  shall  be  as  ashes 
under  the  soles  of  your  feet,  in  the  day  that  I  shall  do  this, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."     The  event  in  our  text  is  the 
same  with  that   under   the  seventh   trumpet;    with  that 
under  the  seventh  vial ;  with  the  going  into  perdition  of 
the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit ;   with  the  sinking  of 
mystical  Babylon  like  a  millstone  into  the  depth  of  the  sea, 


CHAPTER    XIV.  267 

never  to  rise  ;  and  the  destruction  of  the  beast,  and  false 
prophet,  with  the  kings  of  the  earth, — being  cast  into  the 
lake  of  fire ;  Rev.  xix.  20.  Thus  we  have  the  scene  of  the 
Son  of  man  upon  the  white  cloud  ;  the  harvest  and  vint- 
age ;  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God,  towards  which 
the  world  is  tending,  and  into  which  the  affairs  of  the 
nations  are  now  fast  ripening. 

May  the  people  of  God  be  prepared  for  whatever  shall 
occur  to  try  their  faith  and  patience.  These  graces  have 
fiery  trials  yet  to  pass,  before  the  millennial  sun  will  smile 
upon  the  earth.  The  people  of  God  who  may  then  live, 
will  have  a  signal  opportunity  to  glorify  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  brighten  their  eternal  crown.  May  all 
professed  followers  of  the  Lamb,  when  those  days  shall 
be  found  approaching,  watch ;  stand  fast  in  the  faith  ;  quit 
themselves  like  men ;  and  be  strong.  Let  them  take  to 
themselves  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  they  may  be 
able  to  stand  in  the  evil  day. 

And  let  those  who,  when  the  days  of  trial  shall  be  found 
rolling  on  and  coming  near,  shall  find  themselves  arrested 
by  some  fatal  harbinger  of  mortality,  and  about  to  die,  after 
a  life  of  faith,  joyfully  recollect  the  testimony  borne  by  the 
great  voice  from  heaven,  relative  to  that  day,  that  "  blessed 
are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth ;"  or 
•when  that  period  commences.  "Yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours  ;  and  their  works  do 
follow  thera." 


LECTURE    XXI 


REVELATION   XV. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  saw  another  sign  in  heaven,  great 
and  marvellous, — seven  angels  having  the  seven  last 
plagues :  for  in  them  is  filled  up  the  wrath  of  God. 

This  chapter  is  an  introduction  to  the  seven  vials,  the 
period  of  which  is  synchronical  with  the  events  of  the 
preceding  chap.  xiv.  Both  traverse  the  period  from  the 
time  of  the  Reformation,  early  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
to  the  Millennium  ;  each  closing  in  the  battle  of  the  great 
day.  The  sign^  in  the  text,  great  and  marvellous,  marks  a 
new  era  in  the  state  of  the  man  of  sin,  as  his  downfall 
here  commences.  These  seven  vials,  each  in  the  hand 
of  an  angel,  are  the  seven  last  plagues,  containing  the  ful- 
ness of  the  temporal  judgments,  in  which  God  would  sweep 
Antichrist  from  the  earth,  and  clear  the  way  for  his  own 
kingdom  of  salvation.  But  before  entering  on  these 
scenes  of  judgment ;  the  minds  of  the  saints  are  first  to  be 
prepared  by  having  a  glance  of  the  glorious  things  which 
should  follow  this  succession  of  judgments ;  and  should 
be  in  a  measure  anticipated,  and  enjoyed  by  faith,  even 
during  these  judgments,  by  the  true  people  of  God.  This 
is  the  soothing  course,  which  had  by  tlie  Spirit  of  Grace 
been  pursued  in  this  book  ;  first  fortifying  the  minds  of 
the  church,  when  terrible  things  were  opening  before 
them, — with  the  glory  that  should  follow,  and  the  faithful- 
ness of  God  which  should  attend. 

Ver.  2.  And  I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass 
mingled  with  fire ;  and  them  that  had  gotten  the 
victory  over  the  beast,  and  over  his  image,  and  over 


CHAPTER   XV.  269 

his  mark,  and  over  the  number  of  his  name,  stand 
on  the  sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of  God. 

The  sea  of  glass  was  shown,  in  Jjccture  V,  on  chap, 
iv.  6,  to  be  expressed  in  allusion  to  the  great  brazen  sea 
in  the  ancient  temple,  which  was  a  type  of  gospel  grace, 
of  the  fountain  opened  for  washing  from  sin.  That  ves- 
sel was  called  a  sea,  on  account  of  its  great  capacity.  It 
was  prepared  for  the  ceremonial  cleansings  of  the  priests. 
And  the  fountain  of  gospel  grace  is  prepared  for  the  true 
spiritual  cleansing  of  them  that  are  kings  and  priests  unto 
God.  This  sea  is  Christ,  and  all  his  means  of  salvation. 
These,  under  the  Old  Testament,  were  seen  but  darkly ; 
but  in  the  New  Testament  they  are  seen  with  great  clear- 
ness. And  this  far  greater  clearness  is  denoted  by  the 
basin  of  our  great  gospel  sea  of  grace  being  composed  of 
pure  transparent  glass ;  instead  of  being  brazen^  as  of  old. 
This  is  now  large  enough  for  all  the  true  people  of  God : 
its  brims  wide,  and  firm  enough  for  their  conveniently 
standing  upon  it :  and  its  form,  in  the  figure,  is  such  as  to 
reflect  the  rays  from  the  sun  which  fall  upon  it,  like  a 
prism,  giving  those  rays  in  their  different  shades,  perhaps 
from  the  red  to  the  violet ;  thus  giving  it  the  appearance 
of  being  mingled  with  fire.  Here  is  the  washing  apparatus  of 
divine  grace.  The  fire  of  divine  justice  is  indeed  reflected 
in  it,  in  the  death  of  Christ.  And  all  the  milder  and  softer 
rays  of  light  and  grace  are  also  reflected  from  this  sea  of 
divine  love,  to  those  who  find  their  standing  upon  it. 
This  standing  upon  the  sea  of  salvation  will  be  especially 
notable,  and  uninterrupted  after  the  vials  of  divine  indig- 
nation shall  be  accomplished,  and  the  millennial  sun  shall 
be  found  rising.  Though  the  event  here  stands  before 
the  vials  ;  yet  its  true  chronological  order  is  after  them ; 
that  subsequent  state  being  here  taken  by  anticipation,  to 
relieve  and  fortify  the  minds  of  the  people  of  God.  In  the 
Millennium,  the  church,  having  overcome,  may  live  on  her 
sea  of  glass  ;  or  be  in  a  sense  fixed  as  pillars  in  the  tem- 
ple of  God,  to  go  no  more  out.  And  their  harps  of  God 
are  an  emblem  of  their  devout  songs  of  praises  to  God  for 
his  judgments,  and  for  all  the  wonders  of  his  grace.  All 
the  sacred  descriptions  of  their  blessedness,  in  that  golden 
age  of  the  reign  of  grace,  give  the  true  comment  upon  the 
blessedness  in  the  text. 

Z2 


270  LECTURE    XXI. 

Ver.  S.  And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the  ser- 
vant of  God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  saying.  Great 
and  marvellous  are  thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty: 
just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints. 

4.  Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify 
thy  name  ?  for  thou  only  art  holy  :  for  all  nations 
shall  come  and  worship  before  thee ;  for  thy  judg- 
ments are  made  manifest. 

This  is  to  be  the  song  of  the  church  immediately  after 
the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God.  We  have  here  their 
first  employment  in  their  song  of  praise  to  God  for  his 
judgments  in  that  battle  ;  and  the  certainty  that  all  na- 
tions, the  remnant  left  on  earth,  shall  now  speedily  come  and 
unite  in  the  salvation  of  Zion.  The  song  is  that  of  Moses, 
and  of  the  Lamb  ;  which  suggests,  that  the  scenes  of  judg- 
ments then  just  finished,  are  but  the  antitype  of  the  scene  at 
the  Red  Sea.  Hence  the  song  of  Moses,  and  the  pious  in 
Israel,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Red  Sea,  in  view  of  the 
destruction  of  the  Egyptians,  will  be  again  now  celebrated, 
upon  the  fulfilment  of  what  was  typified  by  the  ruin  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  deliverance  of  Israel  there  ;  and  upon  the 
view  of  the  glories  of  the  Lamb  now  renewedly  unfolded. 
This  scene,  the  last  vial,  is  now  future ;  but  will  in  due 
time  be  accomplished,  to  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer,  in  the 
salvation  of  his  people. 

Ver.  5.  And  after  that,  I  looked,  and,  behold,  the 
temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  testimony  in  heaven 
was  opened. 

6.  And  the  seven  angels  came  out  of  the  temple, 
having  the  seven  plagues,  clothed  in  pure  and  white 
linen,  and  having  their  breasts  girded  with  golden 
girdles. 

The  information  here,  that  "  the  temple  of  the  taberna- 
cle of  the  testimony  in  heaven  was  opened,"  to  present 
the  scene  of  the  vials,  is  of  deep  interest.  The  great 
sacred  tent  pitched  by  divine  order  in  the  camp  of  Israel 
in  the  wilderness,  was  to  them  instead  of  a  temple,  and 
afterward  gave  way  to  the  temple.      This  was  called 


CHAPTER    XV.  271 

•'  the  tabernacle  of  testimony"  (Exod.  ix.  15) ;  because 
it  stood  for  a  continual  testimony  of  the  gracious  presence 
and  watchful  eye  of  the  Ahnighty  over  his  people ;  as 
well  as  for  an  emblem  of  the  body  of  Christ,  afterward  to 
be  assumed  ;  and  an  emblem  of  the  Christian  church.  It 
was  of  old  recorded  that  "  the  cloud  covered  it ;  and,  at 
even,  there  was  upon  it  as  it  were  the  appearance  of  fire, 
until  the  morning.  So  it  was  alway  :  the  cloud  covered 
it  by  day,  and  the  appearance  of  fire  by  night."  The 
people  of  God  had  here,  full  in  their  sight,  a  manifestation 
of  the  gracious  presence  and  care  of  Jehovah  with  his 
people.  And  the  circumstance  of  the  temple, — the  taber- 
nacle of  testimony, — being  open  in  our  text,  and  the  angels 
of  judgment  proceeding  from  it,  is  to  assure  us,  that  this 
new  series  of  judgments  on  the  enemies  of  Zion  is  in  full 
token  of  God's  gracious  presence  with  his  people,  and 
from  covenant  faithfulness  to  them.  He  will  thus  show 
that  "  Zion  shall  be  redeemed  with  judgment,  and  her 
converts  with  righteousness."  And  we  here  again  learn 
that  the  judgments  of  the  vials  are  inflicted  by  the  ministry 
of  angels,  the  guardian  spirits  of  the  heirs  of  salvation. 
Their  white  dress  is  an  emblem  of  their  purity ;  their 
golden  girdles,  of  their  pure  and  holy  love. 

Ver.  7.  And  one  of  the  four  beasts  gave  unto  the 
seven  angels  seven  golden  vials,  full  of  the  wrath  of 
God,  vi^ho  liveth  for  ever  and  ever. 

We  are  filled  with  admiration  at  the  honour  God  puts 
upon  the  prayers  and  agency  of  his  ministers  and  people. 
To  hear  the  symbolic  angel  say  to  Christ  on  his  white 
cloud,  "  Thrust  in  thy  sickle,  and  reap,"  as  in  the  last 
lecture.  To  hear  what  power  of  judgments  is  ascribed 
to  the  witnesses,  Rev.  xi.  5,  6  ;  to  the  saints,  in  Psalm 
cxlix. ;  and  that  he  that  overcometh  shall  rule  all  nations  of 
enemies  with  a  rod  of  iron  ;  here  is  an  honour  done  to  the 
prayers  of  the  saints,  indeed  wonderful.  We  are  prepared, 
then,  to  hear  in  our  text,  that  one  of  the  emblems  of  the 
gospel  ministry  gives  the  seven  cups  of  divine  wrath  into 
the  hands  of  the  seven  angels  of  judgment,  to  pour  them 
out  upon  the  enemies  of  God.  Christ  truly  is  head  over 
all  things  to  the  church,  and  for  her  salvation.     For  this 


273  LECTURE   XXI. 

he  governs  the  world;  and  he  says  to  his  people,  "For  all 
things  are  yours."  "  Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
and  I  will  dehver  thee."  And  he  adds,  "  Awake,  awake, 
put  on  strength,  O  arm  of  the  Lord  ;  awake  as  in  the 
generation  of  old  ;  art  thou  not  it  that  hath  cut  Rahab,  and 
wounded  the  dragon  ?"  To  his  ministers  he  says,  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
And,  in  our  text,  Christ  gives  them  the  astonishing  honour 
of  delivering  into  the  hands  of  the  seven  angels  of  judg- 
ment, the  cups  of  the  seven  last  plagues.  This  must 
allude  to  their  official  vigilance  and  prayers  for  the  salva- 
tion of  Zion,  at  the  period  alluded  to.  The  judgments 
will  take  place  in  answer  to  the  prayers  and  groans  of 
the  church,  led  by  her  ministers. 

We  find  something  very  similar  to  this,  and  perhaps  it 
is  the  parent  text  on  which  this  rests,  in  Jer.  xxv.  1 5-33. 
God  here  commands  the  prophet  to  "  take  the  wine  cup 
of  his  fury  from  his  hand,  and  to  cause  all  nations  to  drink 
of  it "  And  in  the  same  sacred  passage  we  learn,  that 
whatever  judgments  might  here  have  been  primarily  in- 
cluded, the  whole  ultimately  refers  to  the  battle  of  that 
great  day  of  God,  accomplished  in  the  seventh  vial.  For 
God  here  says,  "  The  liord  shall  roar  on  high,  and  utter 
his  voice  from  his  holy  habitation:  he  shall  mightily 
roar  upon  his  habitation:  he  shall  give  a  shout,  as 
they  that  tread  the  grapes,  against  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth.  A  noise  shall  come  even  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  a  controversy  with  the  nations  ; 
and  will  plead  with  all  flesh :  he  will  give  them  that  are 
wicked  to  the  sword.  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Be- 
hold, evil  shall  go  forth  from  nation  to  nation  ;  and  a  great 
whirlwind  shall  be  raised  up  from  the  coasts  of  the  earth. 
And  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be,  at  that  day,  from  one 
end  of  the  earth,  even  unto  the  other  end  of  the  earth  ; 
they  shall  not  be  lamented,  neither  gathered,  nor  buried  ; 
they  shall  be  dung  upon  the  ground."  This  is  said  of  "  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  world,  which  are  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth,"  as  verse  26.  "  And  this  cup  of  wrath  (the  vials 
are  cups  of  wrath),  this  wine  cup  of  the  fury  at  God's 
hand,"  the  prophet  should  takc^  and  cause  all  nations  to 
drink  of  it ;  and  they  should  be  "  drunken,  and  fall,  and 
rise  no  more,  because  of  the  sword  which  God  will  send 
among  them."     We  have  here  the  same  figure  with  the 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


273 


one  in  our  text.  God's  minister  takes  the  cup  (vial)  of 
divine  wrath  from  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  and  delivers, 
it  to  some  agent,  to  be  executed  upon  the  nations  of  his 
enemies.  Such  honour  the  ambassadors  of  Christ  never 
would  have  assumed.  But,  as  God  confers  it  upon  them, 
they  have  no  right  to  decline  it,  nor  others  to  disbelieve  it. 
It  is  God's  sovereign  pleasure  and  decision. 

Ver.  8.  And  the  temple  was  filled  with  smoke 
from  the  glory  of  God,  and  from  his  power ;  and  no 
man  was  able  to  enter  into  the  temple,  till  the  seven 
plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were  fulfilled. 

This  may  be  only  a  fdling  up  of  the  figure.  It  may 
have  some  allusion  to  the  ancient  cloud  by  day,  and  fire 
by  night,  over  the  camp  of  Israel.  God  says  of  that 
period,  he  will  create  upon  his  people  a  cloud  by  day, 
and  a  flaming  fire  by  night ;  and  upon  the  glory  shall  be  a 
defence. 

REVELATION    XVI. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the 
temple,  saying  to  the  seven  angels,  Go  your  ways 
and  pour  out  the  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God  upon  the 
earth. 

A  cup  (the  same  as  the  vial  in  the  text)  is  a  figure  much 
used  in  the  word  of  God  to  denote  a  portion,  good  or  bad. 
"  In  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  a  cup,  and  the  wine  is  red  ;  it 
is  full  of  mixture ;  and  he  poureth  out  of  the  same  ;  but 
the  dregs  thereof,  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  shall  wring 
them  out,  and  drink  them."  "  Upon  the  wicked  God  shall 
rain  fire  and  brimstone,  and  a  horrible  tempest :  this  shall 
be  the  portion  of  their  cup."  The  seven  vials  are  seven 
select  portions  of  divine  judgments,  in  the  last  days. 

Relative  to  the  events  designed  by  the  vials,  the  follow- 
ing has  been  a  noted  scheme,  but  a  very  unsatisfactory 
one :  viz.  That  the  first,  inflicting  a  grievous  sore  upon 
the  people  of  the  papal  earth,  was  fulfilled  in  the  ninth 
century,  in  contentions  between  the  popes  and  the  empe- 
rors of  Germany  relative  to  power.  The  second,  poured 
upon  the  sea,  and  turning  it  to  blood,  was  fulfilled  in  the 


274  LECTURE    XXI. 

crusades  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.  That  the 
third,  poured  upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  water,  and 
turning  them  to  blood,  was  fulfilled  in  the  persecutions 
of  the  Albigenses  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont,  and  in  the 
quarrels  between  the  ecclesiastical  and  the  civil  powers, 
concerning  the  right  of  investitures.  That  the  fourth, 
poured  upon  the  sun,  was  fulfilled  in  the  rivalships  of 
different  popes,  in  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries. 
That  the  fifth,  poured  upon  the  seat  of  the  beast,  and 
filling  his  kingdom  with  darkness,  was  fulfilled  in  the 
events  of  the  Reformation,  by  the  instrumentality  of  Luther 
and  others.  That  the  sixth,  drying  the  river  Euphrates, 
was  fulfilled  in  the  drying  up  of  the  sources  of  papal 
wealth  and  power,  after  the  Reformation.  And  the  seventh, 
poured  into  the  air,  is  to  be  fulfilled  in  the  final  destruction 
of  popery,  and  all  antichristian  powers. 

With  this  scheme  there  is  an  entire  dissatisfaction. 
The  vials  are  "the  seven  last  plagues.''''  Could  they, 
then,  have  commenced  in  the  ninth  century?  If  they  did, 
they  were  the  ^ir^^,  instead  of  the  last  plagues  on  the  man 
of  sin  :  and  tliey  were  taking  place  while  he  was  rising  into 
power,  and  while  he  continued  in  his  highest  glory.  This 
cannot  be.  Most  of  those  events  are  destitute  of  the 
least  appearance  of  their  having  been  the  last  plagues. 
They  were  only  such  events  as  must  have  been  expected 
to  take  place  during  the  rise  of  the  Man  of  Sin.  And 
those  events,  at  least  the  first  four  of  them,  do  not,  in  any 
fit  sense,  accord  with  the  imagery  of  the  vials.  This  old 
scheme,  then,  cannot  he  correct. 

One  noted  writer,  feeling  the  impropriety  of  this  scheme 
of  the  vials,  leaps  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  imagines 
there  was  no  vial  of  wrath  on  the  papal  earth  till  the 
French  revolution  of  1789  ;  and  then,  five  of  the  vials,  he 
imagines,  were  fulfilled  almost  at  the  same  time,  in  that 
event,  and  its  consequent  terrors  :  and  a  still  later  writer 
seems  to  be  of  the  same  opinion.  Let  their  scheme  and 
mine  be  compared,  and  let  the  reader  judge.  A  series  of 
judgments  had  in  fact  been  bringing  down  the  papal  see 
for  some  centuries  before  that  revolution  in  France,  and 
were  precisely  such  events  as  appear  to  have  been 
predicted  in  the  first  four  vials.  Why  should  these 
be  excluded  from  a  place  among  the  vials  of  wrath  upon 
popery?     The  vials  were  designed  to  bring  down  the 


CHAPTER   XVI.  275 

papal  power  after  it  had  reached  its  greatest  height ;  and 
the  two  last  of  them  were  designed  at  least  to  include 
other  enemies  of  the  Christ,  besides  the  papal  see ;  as 
will  be  shown.  As  popery  was  revelling  in  its  highest 
zenith  of  impious  glory ;  the  voice  in  the  text  is  heard, 
ordering  the  commencement  of  this  series  of  judgments. 
And  it  then  follows  : — 

Vial  I. 

Ver.  2.  And  the  first  went,  and  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  earth ;  and  there  fell  a  noisome  and 
grievous  sore  upon  the  men  which  had  the  mark  of 
the  beast,  and  upon  them  which  worshipped  his 
image. 

The  earth,  in  this  text,  must  mean  the  Roman  or  papal 
earth.    The  papal  beast  rose  out  of  the  earth, — the  earthly 
and  carnal  views  of  Romish  Christians.     And  it  must  here 
allude  to  the  same  corrupt  system.     This  is  evident,  in 
that  the  effect  of  this  cup  of  wrath  was  upon  the  men  who 
had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  worshipped  his  image ; 
who  belonged  to  the  papal  beast ;  and  whose  religion  was 
but  an  imitation  of  paganism,  under  the  Christian  name. 
Upon  this  people,  there  fell  "  a  grievous  ulcer."  (Ulkos, 
an  ulcer.)    To  learn  what  was  the  event  here  fulfilled,  we 
must  inquire  what  was  the  first  capital  event  which  com- 
menced the  downfall  of  popery,  from  the  zenith  of  its 
glory  ?     This  clew  appears  infallible.     And  who  needs  to 
be  informed  that  this  first  step  was  the  unfolding  of  the 
rottenness  of  the  system  of  the  papal  church,  which  dis- 
covery produced  the  Reformation  early  in  the  sixteenth 
century  1     This  was,  indeed,  a  fatal  stroke,  and  the  Jirst 
given  to  that  most  wicked  power.     It  was  a  death-wound 
inflicted  on  the  body  of  the  Man  of  Sin.     Till  now,  he 
appeared  in  his  highest  glory, — felt  superior  to  all  danger, 
— and  bade  defiance  to  all  opposition ;  as  was  manifest  in 
his  extravagant  claims  and  insolence,  and  the  vast  reve- 
nues from  the  sales  of  licenses  to  sin  to  any  degree.    This 
scandalous  blasphemy  of  Leo  X.  opened  the  eyes  of  Mar- 
tin Luther ;  excited  his  zeal  against  a  system  so  horrid 
and  facilitated  his  exposure  of  the  filthy  ulcer  of  the  whole 
papal  system.     And  most  fitly  was  this  event  represented 


276  LECTURE    XXI. 

in  the  text,  as  the  falling  of  a  noisome  grievous  ulcer  upon 
the  people  of  that  corrupt  system.     It  showed  the  whole 
to  be  but  a  great  filthy  sore.     And  at  the  same  time  it 
operated  as  a  deadly  sore  from  a  wound  now  inflicted  on 
the  Man  of  Sin.     All  his  applications,  to  effect  a  cure  by 
the  skill  and  intrigues  of  the  Jesuits,  and  by  other  means, 
proved  ineffectual.    Large  portions  of  the  papal  earth  now 
learned  the  deep  and  fatal  corruptions  of  the  papal  system, 
and  fell  off,  as  shall  be  shown.     This  was  a  sore  indeed ; 
and  has  issued  in  the  death  of  the  papal  beast,  as  a  beast, 
or  predominant  power.     The  art   of  printing,  (invented 
eighty  years  before),  and  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe, 
after  the  horrors  of  the  dark  ages,  aided  the  Reformers,  in 
presenting  popery  to  view  as  a  filthy  and  fatal  ulcer  on  a 
human  body ;  instead  of  being  the  holy  church  of  Christ, 
as  had  been  claimed.     And  the  figure  in  our  text  is  most 
happy,  in  predicting  this  event.     It  fully  accords  with  pro- 
phetic language  in  similar  cases.  See  Isa.  i.,  where  a  very 
corrupt  state  of  the  Jewish   church   is  thus  described : 
"  From  the  sole  of  the  foot,  to  the  head,  there  is  no  sound- 
ness ;  but  wounds,  and  bruises,  and  putrifying  sores.''''    In 
the  papal  system  was  the  same  abomination,  only  to  a  far 
more  fatal  degree  than  had  ever  existed  before  in  any 
community.     And  to  unfold  this,  was  such  a  step  as  might 
be  expected  to  commence  the  downfall  of  popery.    A  beam 
of  light  was  let  into  the  dark  recess ;  or  a  long  conceal- 
ment was  taken  off  from  the  blasphemous  system,  which 
had   been  hid  from  the  world  of  people  under  the  most 
sanctimonious  pretences.     Were  a  magistrate  about  to  put 
an  end  to  some  scene  of  wickedness  long  operating  behind 
a  curtained  concealment,  how  would   he  commence  the 
business?     Would  he  not,  after  preparing  to  seize  the 
guilty  actors,  and  after  having  silently  presented  himself 
by  the  side  of  the  guilty  apartment, — draw  aside  the  cur- 
tain  which  screened  them  ?    Then  the  way  would  be  pre- 
pared to  take  them,  and  bring  them  to  justice.     This 
drawing  of  the  curtain  was  the  most  fit  operation  of  the 
first  vial,  though  under  a  somewhat  different  figure;  the 
effect  is  the  same.     And  the  way  was  thus  prepared  for 
subsequent  judgments.     Here  is  a  nest  of  vipers  concealed 
under  a  stone :  you  set  forth  to  destroy  them ;  and  after 
due  preparation,  you  first  turn  off  the  stone,  which  covers 
them  ;  and  then  the  way  is  prepared  for  their  destruction. 


CHAPTER   XVI.  277 

"When  God  is  determined  to  destroy  the  blind  confidence 
of  a  sinner,  he  lets  a  ray  of  light  into  his  conscience,  and 
convinces  him  of  sin.  In  the  process  of  the  final  judg- 
ment, the  light  of  truth  will  shine  clearly  into  impenitent 
souls ;  refuges  of  lies  will  tluis  be  swept  away,  and  the 
way  be  prepared  for  the  punishment  which  is  to  follow. 
In  a  degree  similar  to  this,  was  the  process  which  God 
saw  fit  to  take  with  the  Man  of  Sin,  when  the  time  arrived 
for  the  commencement  of  the  vials  of  his  wrath  upon  that 
power.  Such  a  discovery  of  the  hateful  abomination  of 
that  system,  Avas  the  effect  of  the  first  vial.  And  its  lan- 
guage is  most  appropriate  and  forcible,  that  the  people, 
now  to  be  exposed,  should  be  represented  as  consuming 
with  a  great  filthy  fatal  sore  ; — the  very  figure  adopted  by 
Inspiration  to  denote  a  system  of  hypocrisy.  Isa.  i.  6. 

As  tlie  responsibility  of  the  scheme  which  I  shall  pre- 
sent, of  the  first  five  of  the  vials,  rests  on  me  as  the  first 
who  has  beat  this  trackless  way ;  I  must  be  indulged  the 
liberty  of  being  more  particular  in  exhibiting  my  reasons 
for  adopting  and  presenting  this  scheme,  and  in  vindicating 
the  correctness  of  it.  It  is  an  historical  fact,  that  the  papal 
system  continued  in  its  highest  elevation  till  early  in  the 
sixteenth  century ; — that  then  it  experienced  a  fatal  re- 
verse ;  that  it  has  ever  since  been  sinking  under  a  succes- 
sion of  divine  judgments; — that  the  sixteenth  century 
opened  with  events  great  and  portentous  to  the  papal  see, 
and  to  mankind  ; — that  a  new  era  of  affairs  did  indeed  then 
commence.  The  fanatical  crusades,  which  had  been  per- 
formed to  the  Holy  Land,  had  tended  much  to  the  confirm- 
ing of  the  papal  power.  They  had  given  to  the  pope  the 
management  of  the  donations,  legacies,  and  revenues, 
poured  forth  for  the  support  of  those  wars.  Nothing  could 
better  have  served  his  purpose,  and  rendered  his  influence 
supreme  and  absolute.  He  had  the  control  of  all  those 
crusades.  And  yet  those  same  wars  served  to  cause  light 
to  arise  upon  the  dark  ages.  The  multitudes  of  ignorant 
beings  who  travelled  abroad  in  those  wars,  and  came  to 
the  knowledge  of  improvements, — in  Constantinople,  and 
other  places,  which  they  never  before  dreamed  of,  brought 
home  with  them  new  ideas  of  the  world,  and  of  the  bene- 
fits of  civilization.  They  communicated  their  ideas  to 
others,  and  a  spirit  of  emulation  and  improvement  began 
to  arise.  Civil  government  soon  took  the  place  of  the 
Aa 


278  LECTURE   XXI< 

anarchy  of  the  feudal  times.  Contentious  barons  perished 
in  those  expeditions,  and  their  arbitrary  possessions  fell 
into  the  hands  of  better  men  ;  and  the  terrors  of  the  feudal 
ages  began  to  give  way  to  a  better  state  of  things.  Com- 
merce forced  itself  into  view,  from  the  necessity  of  s>ipply- 
ing  the  wants  of  the  hosts  of  the  crusades,  in  different  and 
distant  regions.  Light  in  the  art  of  civil  government  in- 
creased ;  and  towns,  with  incorporated  privileges,  became 
extensively  established  in  the  north  of  Europe.  The 
chivalry  of  those  days  (designed  to  maintain  valour,  hu- 
manity, justice,  honour,  courtesy ; — and  to  redress  the 
oppressed)  operated  as  a  means  of  refinement,  and  of 
benefit  to  mankind  in  that  twilight,  after  a  long  night  of 
ignorance.  And,  after  the  taking  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks,  in  1453,  many  of  its  inhabitants  fled,  with  their 
Iherature  and  books,  to  the  west,  and  aided  in  the  revival 
of  learning.  These  things  prepared  the  way  for  the  six- 
teenth century  to  open  with  a  certain  prospect  of  new  and 
better  times  for  Zion ;  and  of  terrible  things  for  popery. 
Cotton  Mather,  speaking  upon  that  period,  says,  "  Three 
most  remarkable  things,  bearing  a  great  aspect  on  human 
affairs,  then  took  place.  1.  The  resurrection  of  literature. 
2.  The  opening  of  America.  3.  The  Reformation." 
Whether  the  vials  commenced  then,  or  not ;  it  is  a  fact, 
that  at  the  very  period  of  the  Reformation,  the  intellectual 
and  civil  improvements  of  the  people  of  Europe  had  pre- 
pared the  way  most  remarkably  for  the  overthrow  of 
popery  to  commence  its  operations,  and  to  take  from  the 
eyes  of  mankind  the  bandages  of  superstition  and  delusion, 
"with  which  they  had  so  long  been  blmdfolded.  This  blind- 
fold was  then  in  fact  taken  from  the  eyes  of  millions  ! 

"With  these  approaches  towards  light  and  civilization, 
there  came  forward  also  a  systematic  preparation  for  war. 
Standing  armies  were  formed ;  and  men  were  trained  to 
the  use  of  firearms,  and  the  arts  of  war.  Charles  the 
Second,  king  of  France,  took  the  lead ;  and  a  door  was 
opened  for  desolating  wars.  The  idea  of  the  balance  of 
power,  for  the  mutual  safety  of  the  nations  of  Europe,  was 
formed  ;  which,  in  after  days,  furnished  ample  employment 
to  those  nations  in  scenes  of  blood  and  terror.  The  art 
of  war  with  fire-arms,  became  now  a  study ;  and  many 
became  adepts  in  it.  Gunpowder  and  firearms  had  not 
long  before  been  invented, — refined  means  for  a  new  era 


CHAPTER   XVI.  279 

of  judgments  !  Great  generals  too,  and  emperors,  were 
raised  up  ;  and  most  ambitious  rivals  came  to  the  thrones 
of  powerful  nations.  Charles  the  Fifth,  king  of  Spain,  was 
now  elected  to  fill  the  imperial  throne  of  Germany  ;  fitted 
with  talents,  and  dominion,  to  be  a  scourge  to  the  age. 
Francis  First,  a  violent  competitor  with  Charles  for  the 
Germanic  crown,  was  on  the  throne  of  France ;  and 
Henry  Eighth,  formed  for  objects  of  ambition,  was  on  the 
throne  of  England ;  while  the  warlike  Solyman  was  on 
the  throne  of  the  Turks.  Such  a  preparation  of  execution- 
ers of  divine  judgments  (at  the  time  the  art  of  print- 
ing was  becoming  more  improved)  could  not  have  been 
provided  and  stationed  at  their  posts,  without  vast  design 
in  Providence.  It  is  thus  a  notorious  fact,  that  the  six- 
teenth century  opened  with  indubitable  prospects  of  new 
systems  of  most  interesting  events. 

The  pope  himself  (till  now  unshaken  in  his  impious  con- 
fidence,) was,  at  the  view  of  these  things,  deeply  troubled, 
and  predicted  the  approaching  ruin  of  the  papal  see.  To 
this  period  then,  we  turn  our  eyes,  in  full  confidence  of 
here  finding  the  commencement  of  the  vials  of  "  the  seven 
?ast  plagues." 


LECTURE    XXII. 


REVELATION    XVI. 

Vial  I. 

Ver.  2.  And  the  first  went,  and  poured  out  his 
vial  upon  the  earth  ;  and  there  fell  a  noisome  and 
grievous  sore  upon  the  men  which  had  the  mark  of 
the  beast,  and  upon  them  which  worshipped  his 


It  has  been  shown,  that  early  in  the  sixteenth  century 
was  the  time  when  the  judgment  of  the  vials  commenced. 
That  things  had  been  in  a  manifest  preparation  for  such 


280  LECTURE   XXII. 

an  event ;  and  the  first  vial  exhibited  popery  to  the  world 
as  a  most  deadly,  filthy  system  of  false  religion.  Martin 
Luther,  a  pious  Augustine  monk,  a  man  of  the  first  natural 
and  acquired  abilities,  and  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Wittemberg,  became  disgusted  and  alarmed 
at  the  general  wickedness  of  the  papal  see ;  and  especially 
at  the  blasphemous  vending  of  indulgences  to  sin,  with 
sealed  diplomas  by  Leo  X.  in  the  name  of  Christ ;  and 
Luther  raised  his  warning  voice  against  it  in  1517.  This 
opened  a  series  of  events,  which  fulfilled  the  first  vial, 
and  were  to  issue  in  the  overthrow  of  popery.  Luther, 
commencing  with  this  enormity,  was  led  to  discover  and 
expose  the  horrid  train  of  abominations  in  the  papal  sys- 
tem. Powerful  men  were  led  to  engage  with  him  in  this 
work  of  Reformation  ;  and  God  gave  them  astonishing 
success.  The  history  of  the  Reformation  is  of  deep  interest. 
But  a  few  particulars  of  it  can  be  given  in  this  lecture. 

Great  attention  was  soon  paid  to  the  labours  and  remon- 
strances of  Luther,  by  first  characters,  who  had  long  been 
vexed  to  see  vast  collections  of  money  taken  from  the 
people,  and  at  such  horrid  expense  of  their  morals,  and  all 
under  the  cloak  of  religion.  These  things  had  prepared 
the  way  to  engage  the  attention  of  thousands  to  the 
warning  voice  of  Luther;  and  his  proselytes  became 
numerous. 

Attempts  were  made  by  the  papal  authority  to  silence 
Luther,  and  to  extinguish  this  light ;  but  in  vain.  The 
pope  then  thundered  against  him  his  bull  of  excommuni- 
cation, and  demanded  against  him  an  execution  of  the 
law  against  heretics.  Upon  this,  Luther  committed  this 
papal  bull  to  the  flames,  with  his  own  papal  books  ;  and 
declared  the  pope  to  be  the  Man  of  Sin.  Charles  V.  had 
come  to  the  imperial  German  throne :  and,  at  a  diet  of 
German  princes  at  AVorms,  called  to  suppress  these  new 
commotions,  he  laboured  to  procure  the  destruction  of 
Luther ;  who  upon  this,  deemed  it  expedient  to  retire,  for 
a  time,  from  pubHc  view.  In  this  retreat,  he  translated 
the  Bible  into  the  German  language,  which  proved  of  in- 
finite service  to  the  Reformation.  The  pope  and  his 
posse  now  discovered  their  full  determination  to  crush 
this  northern  heresy,  so  called.  But  a  watchful  Providence 
soon  furnished  them  with  other  employment,  with  which 
they  could  not  dispense.    A  war  broke  out  between  Charles 


CHAPTER   XVI.  281 

and  Francis  I.  king  of  France,  of  which  Italy  was  the 
bloody  theatre  for  half  a  century,  as  will  be  shown  under 
the  next  vial ;  which  opened  upon  the  sea,  and  turned  it 
to  blood.  This  prevented  the  pope,  Charles,  and  the 
papal  powers,  from  crushing  the  Reformation ;  which 
otherwise  it  seems  that  they  would  have  done  with  great 
readiness  and  ease.  The  pope,  in  this  terrible  scene  of 
war  between  his  two  darling  papal  sons,  Charles  V.  and 
Francis  I.,  found  himself  scorched  between  two  fires,  as 
Italy  became  the  seat  of  their  contest.  He  was  found 
dangling  between  them  ;  sometimes  in  alliance  with  the 
one,  and  sometimes  with  the  other;  and  despised  by  both 
these  turbulent  sons  of  his  own  communion. 

In  these  continual  scenes  of  vexation  and  danger,  he 
found  business  enough,  without  interfering,  to  any  effect- 
ual degree,  with  the  reforming  operations  of  Luther. 
And,  so  urgent  and  precarious  were  the  affairs  of  Charles, 
that  he  dared  not  provoke  the  German  princes  who 
favoured  the  Reformation.  Indeed,  Charles  himself  (being 
often  embroiled  and  vexed  with  the  intrigues  of  the  pope, 
who  at  times  was  siding  with  Francis  against  him),  often 
secretly  rejoiced  to  see  the  abominations  of  the  papal  see 
exposed,  and  its  influence  thus  curtailed.  Repeatedly 
Charles  (as  great  a  Catholic  bigot  as  he  was,)  put  to  his 
helping  hand  to  expose  the  vile  duplicities  of  the  holy  fa- 
ther ;  He  even  published  these  duplicities,  and  exhorted  the 
College  of  cardinals  to  manifest  their  care  for  the  church, 
when  h  was  (as  he  expressed  it)  "  so  shamefully  neglected 
by  its  chief  pastor  !"  These  things  flew  over  Germany,  and 
confirmed  the  truth  of  the  charges  of  the  reformers  against 
papal  corruptions  :  and  a  number  of  great  and  free  cities 
openly  declared  for  the  Reformation.  Great  advantages 
were  on  the  side  of  the  reformers,  in  point  of  erudition, 
purity  and  force  of  writing,  industry,  and  every  thing  that 
commanded  respect.  The  reformers  had  in  this  a  com- 
manding advantage  over  the  illiterate  monks,  their  rude 
arguments,  and  barbarous  style.  Erasmus,  of  high  litera- 
ture and  wit,  learning  the  abominations  of  popery,  turned 
all  his  power  of  satire  against  it.  The  Landgrave  of 
Hesse,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  of  Brandenberg,  and 
the  Prince  of  Anhalt,  renounced  the  papal  see,  and  em- 
braced the  reformed  religion.  The  pope  now,  roused  by 
liis  perplexities,  demanded  a  diet  for  the  destruction  of 
A  a2 


282  LECTURE   XXII. 

Luther,  and  the  suppression  of  the  Reformation.     But  the 
German  princes  replied,  that  they  could  not  obey  his  or- 
der ;  for  a  reformation,  in  his  system,  was  indispensable; 
and  that  so  many  had  embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Refor- 
mation, that  any  violent  measures  against  them  would  be 
full  of  danger.     A  diet  was,  however,   convened  at  Nu- 
remberg; but  there  a  remonstrance  of  one  hundred  articles 
was  drawn  up  against  the  enormities  of  popery.     The 
pope's  nuncio,  then  present,  and  beholding  what  was  done, 
fled,  without  formal  leave,  lest  he  should  be  obliged  to  be 
the  bearer  of  such  tidings  to  his  master.     The  ecclesias- 
tical princes   also,  withdrew  from  such  an  exposure  of 
their  corruptions.     In  these  hundred  charges  of  the  secu- 
lar princes   against  the  papal   see,  the  most  scandalous 
abominations  were  exposed,  together  with  the  indecent  and 
profligate  lives  of  the  papal  clergy.    And  the  remonstrance 
concluded  by  declaring,  "  that  if  the   Holy  See   did  not 
speedily  deliver  them  from  these  intolerable  burdens,  they 
had  determined  to  endure  them  no  longer;  and  they  would 
employ  the   power  with  which  God  had  intrusted  them, 
to  procure  relief."      Thus  the  pope  was   defeated   and 
confounded ;  and  a  bright  contrast  was  exhibited  with  all 
the  long  antecedent  triumphs  of  corruption  in  that  hateful 
system,  "  reigning  over  the  kings  of  the  earth."     This 
diet,  instead  of  crushing  the  Reformation,  as  the  pope  de- 
signed, took  a  most  efl'ectual  step  to  uncover  the  filthy 
ulcer  on  the   men  who  had  the  mark  of  the  beast.     By 
such  authority  were  the  fatal  abominations  of  that  system 
exposed  to  the  world ;  and  the  event  opened  the  eyes  of 
millions  with  a  wonderful  rapidity.    They  were  astonished 
to  behold  the  insuflerable  abominations  of  a  system,  which 
they  had  so  long  held  in  the  highest  veneration.     And,  to 
deepen  this  sore,  this  incurable  ulcer  of  abominations. 
Pope  Adrian  (who  succeeded  the  scandalous   Leo  X.) 
confessed  and  bewailed  them,  and  engaged  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  reform  them.     And  the  consequence  was,  that 
Adrian  suddenly  died  ;  and  to  the  door  of  his  chief  physi- 
cian there  was   shamelessly  fixed  the  inscription,  "  To 
the  deliverer  of  his  country !"    thus  glorying  in  the  fact, 
that  this  reforming  pope  fell  by  the  hand  of  a  murderer. 
These  diings  had  their  eflfect  in  exhibiting  to  the  nations 
the  fatal  corruption  of  the  papal  see. 

Almost  half  the  Germanic  body  now  revolted  from  tho 


CHAPTER    XVI.  283 

abominable  system ;  and  suppressed  its  rites  in  their 
dominions ;  establishing  in  their  room  those  of  the  re- 
formed religion.  And  in  cities,  where  this  was  not  the 
case,  the  cause  of  popery  sickened  well  nigh  unto  death. 

The  emperor*  Charles  was  troubled  at  this  prevalence 
of  the  Reformation  ;  for  he  viewed  it  unfavourable  to  his 
ambitious  plan  of  usurping  full  dominion  over  the  princes 
of  Germany,  which  he  had  long  contemplated.  He  hence 
assembled  a  diet  at  Spires  in  1529,  and  demanded  an  or- 
der that  the  innovations  in  religion  should  proceed  no  fur- 
ther, till  there  should  be  a  meeting  of  a  general  council. 
After  much  debate,  his  order  was  carried  by  a  majority  of 
votes.  Upon  this,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  Margrave 
of  Brandenberg,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  Duke  of 
Lunenberg,  the  Prince  of  Anhalt,  and  the  deputies  of  four- 
teen imperial  cities,  entered  their  solemn  protest  against 
this  decree;  and  hence  obtained  the  name  oi Protestants. 
Charles  continued  his  attempts  against  the  protestants ; 
upon  which  they  entered  into  a  solemn  league  of  defence, 
and  formed  an  alliance  with  the  king  of  France,  and  with 
Henry  VHI.,  king  of  England.  With  the  protestants  these 
kings  confederated,  not  so  much  to  aid  the  Reformation,  as 
to  cramp  their  great  rival  Charles.  This  league  of  Smal- 
cald  was  afterwards  renewed,  and  far  greater  numbers 
united  in  it.  So  mightily  was  the  sore  of  the  man  of  sin 
widened,  and  exhibited  as  incurably  fatal. 

The  pope  still  hoped  to  crush  the  Reformation.  And, 
that  he  might  attempt  it  with  a  better  grace,  he  professed 
to  set  about  a  reformation  in  his  own  system.  For  this 
purpose,  he  commissioned  a  college  of  cardinals  and 
bishops,  to  investigate  this  subject,  and  report  some  plan 
of  reform.  In  this  duty,  they  were  reluctant,  slow,  remiss. 
Manifest  evils  they  touched  with  a  gentle  hand,  afraid  to 
probe  deeply  the  fatal  sore.  Enormhies  they  could  not 
but  expose  ;  yet  their  proposed  remedies  were  either 
inadequate,  or  were  never  applied.  Their  report  was  de- 
signed to  be  kept  a  secret  in  the  court  of  Rome.  But  it 
got  air,  reached  Germany,  was  made  public,  and  afforded 
the  protestants  much  matter  of  triumph.  It  added  vast 
weight  to  their  remonstrances,  and  showed  that  it  was  in 
vain  to  expect  a  reformation  Irom  Romanists.  Luther 
remarked  upon  it,  that  "  they  only  piddled  at  curing  warts  5 


284  I.ECTURE   XXII. 

■while  they  overlooked  and  confirmed  ulcers  /"  The  saga- 
cious reformer  thus  lit  upon  the  very  word  in  our  text,  to 
express  the  disease  of  popery  now  exposed ;  while  he 
had  no  view  of  our  text  as  applying  to  it !  The  word 
there  is,  in  the  original,  ulkos,  ulcer. 

The  pope  and  Charles  now  made  a  bloody  atttempt  to 
crush  the  league  of  Smalcald,  but  were  defeated  essen- 
tially in  the  result,  which  issued  in  the  peace  of  Passau 
in  1552,  which  was  confirmed  in  the  diet  of  Augsburg  in 
1555,  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  religious   order  of 
Germany,  in  which  much  of  the  rights  of  conscience  were 
recognised  and  established,  and  a  death-blow  was  there 
given  to  the  claims  of  the  papal  see.     And  the  Reforma- 
tion now  spread  into  other  lands  with  vast  rapidity,  and  the 
pope  himself  felt  the  fatal  eff'ects  of  his  sore^  and  languished 
under  it.     He  next,  to  attempt  a  healing  of  his  sinking 
cause,  convened  the  council  of  Bologna.     But,  instead  of 
meliorating,  they  heightened  his  disasters,  by  exhibiting 
to  all  Christendom  a  most  glaring  proof  of  the  impotency 
and  abomination  of  the  papal  cause.    And  the  holy  father, 
mortified  with  disappointment,  dissolved  the  council.  Upon 
this  Charles  himself  took  upon  him  to  stigmatize  the  pope, 
and  to  render  him  odious  even  to  the  zealous  Catholics. 
And  various  other  occurrences  aided  his  degradation, — as 
the  following.     Pope  Julian  bestowed  his  highest  official 
gift, — the  cardinal's  commission, — on  an  obscure  youth  of 
16  years,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Ape^  because  he  took 
care  of  an  ape  in  the  family  of  his  master.     This  event, 
at  a  time  when  light  was  fast  rising,  and  the  obligations 
of  duty  and  decency  were  felt,  and  a  blind  veneration  for 
pontifical  distinction  was  fast  abating,  struck  the  people  of 
Christendom  with  horror  !     Satirizing  pieces  filled  Rome, 
condemning  the  pope  for  this  outrage,  and  imputing  it  to 
a  nameless  criminal  passion  for  the  worthless  youth  !   And 
soon  after,  this  corrupt  head  of  the  papal  see,  while  his 
nuncio  was,  at  his  direction,  intriguing  in  a  diet,  to  get  the 
peace  of  Passau  set  aside,  and  he  himself  was  wallowing 
in  licentiousness   at  home,  suddenly  died !     He  had  be- 
come averse  to  all  official  duties  ;  and  being,  at  a  time,  ap- 
plied to  for  serious  business  ;  he,  to  get  rid  of  it,  feigned 
himself  sick,  and  took  medicine  ;  upon  which  he  sickened 
and  died.     And  thus,  while  the  Protestants  were  trem- 


CHAPTER  XVI.  285 

bling  at  this  papal  attempt  to  crush  the  peace  of  Passau, 
the  impious  persecutor  was  called  to  give  his  account  at  a 
higher  tribunal ! 

MilUons  of  people  now  hastened  to  flee  from  so  filthy  a 
communion,  as  from  a  place  infected  with  the  plague ! 
These  exposures  of  papal  corruption  flew  like  hghtning 
over  Europe,  and  suddenly  broke  the  enchantments  of  su- 
perstition in  which  such  milhons  of  the  human  race  had 
been,  for  many  centuries,  so  miserably  enslaved. 

We  are  assured,  from  the  best  authority,  that  "the  charm 
that  had  bound  mankind  for  so  many  ages,  was  now 
broken  at  once.  And  the  human  mind,  in  those  vast  re- 
gions, which  had  continued  long  as  tame  and  passive  as 
if  it  had  been  formed  to  believe  all  that  papal  delusion 
could  teach,  and  to  bear  all  it  could  impose, — roused  up  at 
once,  and  became  inquisitive,  mutinous,  and  disdainful  of 
the  yoke  to  which  it  had  hitherto  submitted.  The  won- 
derful agitation  of  mind,  which  at  this  distance  of  time 
seems  strange,  was  then  so  general,  that  it  must  have  been 
excited  by  causes  which  were  of  powerful  eflScacy.  The 
kingdoms  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  England,  Scotland,  and 
almost  half  of  Germany,  renounced  their  allegiance  to  the 
pope,  abolished  his  jurisdiction  within  their  territories, 
and  gave  the  sanction  of  law  to  modes  of  discipline,  and 
systems  of  doctrine,  which  were  independent  of  papal 
power  and  hostile  to  it.  Nor  was  the  spirit  of  innovation 
confined  to  those  countries  which  openly  revolted  from 
the  pope.  It  spread  through  all  Europe,  and  broke  out 
in  diflferent  parts  of  it.  Math  various  degrees  of  violence. 
It  penetrated  early  into  France,  and  made  progress  there,  so 
that  the  numbers  of  converts  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Refor- 
mation, soon  became  so  great,  and  the  zeal  and  abilities  of 
their  leaders  so  distinguishing,  that  they  soon  contended 
for  superiority  with  the  established  church,  and  were 
sometimes  on  the  point  of  gaining  it.  In  all  the  provinces 
of  Germany  which  continued  to  acknowledge  the  pope,  as 
well  as  in  the  Low  countries,  the  Protestant  doctrines  were 
secretly  taught,  and  had  gained  so  many  proselytes,  that 
they  were  ripe  for  revolt,  and  were  restrained  merely  by 
the  dread  of  their  rulers,  from  imitating  the  examples  of 
their  Protestant  neighbours.  Even  in  Spain  and  Italy, 
symptoms  of  the  same  disposition  to  shake  off*  the  yoke 
appeared.     And  the  pretensions  of  the  pope  to  infallibility 


286  LECTURE    XXII. 

and  supreme  power  were  treated  by  many  persons  of 
great  learning  and  abilities  with  such  scorn,  and  were  at- 
tacked with  such  vehemence,  that  the  most  vigilant  atten- 
tion of  magistrates,  and  the  highest  strains  of  pontifical 
authority,  and  all  the  vigour  of  inquisitorial  jurisdiction, 
were  requisite  to  restrain  it."  ^ 

Who,  then,  can  doubt  but  the  Reformation  was  a  vial  of 
divine  wrath  on  the  papal  see  ?  And  who  can  doubt  but 
it  was  the  first  vial  ?  It  was  the  commencement  of  papal 
ruin ;  and  it  operated  precisely  as  it  was  long  predicted 
the  first  vial  should  operate,  to  exhibit  a  fatal  ulcer  on  the 
men  of  the  papal  community  !  This  was  most  naturally 
the  first  of  a  series  of  divine  judgments,  which  should 
fling  into  perdition  that  pillar  of  the  kingdom  of  Satan.  An 
exhibition  of  its  total  and  extreme  filthiness  to  the  world, 
might  have  been  expected  to  lead  the  way  in  the  last 
plagues  of  heaven  on  that  hateful  Man  of  Sin  ;  so  that  its 
corruption  should  stand  exposed  before  the  nations  in  the 
light  of  the  sun.  Fully  does  this  event  accord  with  the 
imagery  of  the  first  vial ;  as  do  its  subsequent  connected 
events  of  judgment  with  the  imagery  of  the  succeeding 
vials  of  wrath, — as  will  be  shown  in  succeeding  lectures. 
No  other  event  has  taken  place,  which  has,  compared 
with  this,  the  least  claim  as  a  fulfilment  of  the  first  vial; 
and  the  claim  of  this  is  perfect. 

It  was  attempted  to  be  shown,  in  the  lecture  on  Rev. 
xiv. ;  1st  and  onward,  that  the  appearance  of  the  Heavenly 
Lamb  there,  on  mount  Zion  (his  earthly  church)  seems 
clearly  to  relate  to  this  event, — the  Reformation.  Most 
fully  does  the  imagery  there  agree  with  it.  Christ  did 
indeed  then  appear  on  his  earthly  mount  Zion.  He  had 
his  144,000  with  him,  with  their  foreheads  bearing  the  in- 
scription of  his  Father's  name.  Their  numbers  swelled, 
till  their  praises  of  God  and  the  Lamb  became  as  the 
voice  of  many  waters,  and  of  mighty  thunders.  Millions 
then  came  forward  with  a  new  edition  of  the  song  of 
redeeming  love  which  none  but  the  true  people  of  God 
ever  learn.  They  in  purity  fled  out  from  the  filthy  em- 
braces of  the  mother  of  harlots  and  of  the  abominations 
of  the  earth  ;  and  were  thus,  mystically,  "  virgins.''''  They 
followed  the  Lamb ;  and  were  the  first-fruits  of  better 
times  ere  long  to  be  brought  forward.  And  they  were,  in 
a  good  degree,  freed  from  guile  and  fault,  as  there  noted. 


CHAPTER    XVI.  287 

The  synchronic  events  of  the  two  sacred  passages,  shed 
light  on  each  other ;  as  is  common  in  this  mystical  book. 

The  casting  of  the  dragon  from  heaven,  too,  in  chap, 
xii.,  it  was  attempted  to  show  in  a  lecture  on  the  passage, 
alludes  to  the  same  event.  The  devil  was  now  cast  from 
his  height  in  the  false  papal  church,  where  he  had  long, 
with  awful  success,  carried  on  a  war  with  Christ  in  his 
two  witnesses,  in  a  symbolic  ecclesiastical  heaven  indeed! 
But  he  was  thence  hurled  out  unto  the  earth,  in  a  full  ex- 
hibition of  the  earthly  and  most  degrading  policy  of  the 
papal  see.  The  loud  voices  here  (like  those  of  great  wa- 
ters, and  mighty  thunders,  and  harpers  of  sacred  songs,  in 
chap.  14),  sung,  "Now  is  come  salvation,  and  strength, 
and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  glory  of  his  Christ ; 
for  the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down.  Therefore, 
rejoice,  ye  heavens !"  Yes,  the  heaven  of  the  church, 
both  militant  and  triumphant,  did  rejoice  at  the  events  of 
the  Reformation. 

The  vials  of  wrath  were  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
seven  angels  of  judgment,  chap.  xv.  7,  by  a  symbol  of 
the  ministers  of  Christ.  Most  fully  was  this  part  of  the 
figure  illustrated  by  the  agency  of  Martin  Luther,  and  his 
coadjutors  in  the  Reformation.  "And  one  of  the  four 
beasts  gave  unto  the  seven  angels  seven  golden  vials  full 
of  the  wrath  of  God."  Yes,  Luther  had  the  honour  to 
commence  a  fulfilment  of  this !  Other  ambassadors  of 
Christ  united,  and  aided  the  event.  Such  figures  of  gene- 
ral import  are  often  illustrated  by  individual  instances  of 
their  accomplishment.  Most  signal  honour  is  here  put 
upon  the  gospel  ministry  ;  as  is  put,  in  a  similar  manner, 
upon  the  two  witnesses,  that  they  should  be  said  to  have 
power  "  to  shut  heaven,  that  it  rain  not ;  and  to  smite  the 
earth  with  all  plagues,  as  oft  as  they  will."  May  minis- 
ters of  Christ  duly  and  humbly  admire  such  condescend- 
ing grace  of  Heaven ;  and  express  their  admiration  by 
well-directed  and  unabating  zeal  and  faithfulness. 

But  despisers  of  Christ  in  his  ministers  may  well  fear 
and  tremble.  For  Christ  will  not  fail  to  vindicate  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  and  honour  them  who  honour  him. 
And  their  cries  to  him,  under  the  depressions  oi  Zion, 
will  not  fail  to  bring  down  vials  of  wrath  on  her  per- 
secutors. 


LECTURE  XXIII. 


REVELATION   XVI. 

Vial  II. 

Ver.  3.  And  the  second  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
upon  the  sea ;  and  it  became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead 
man :  and  every  living  soul  died  in  the  sea. 

The  first  vial,  it  has  been  shown,  was  poured  on  the 
Roman  earth,  exhibiting  the  fatal  corruption  of  the  papal 
system.  The  second  vial  is  here  poured  upon  the  sea, 
and  turns  it  to  blood.  By  the  sea,  in  this  connexion,  must 
be  understood  the  most  central  part  of  the  papal  dominion. 
"  I  will  shew  you  the  judgment  of  the  great  whore  that 
sitteth  upon  many  waters."  "  The  waters  are  people,  and 
multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues."  (Rev.  xvii.  1, 15.) 
We  have  here  a  collected  view  of  the  sea,  in  this  second 
vial ;  and  of  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  water,  in  the  third 
vial.  The  latter,  we  shall  find  to  be,  the  nations  of  the 
old  papal  communion  besides  Italy;  and  the  sea,  Italy 
itself.  There  is  a  great  fitness  in  denoting  Italy  by  the 
sea,  as  it  was  the  great  centre  of  the  papal  multitudes, 
who  are  denoted  by  the  waters  on  which  this  harlot  sat ; 
the  capital  of  the  papal  powers ;  even  as  the  sea  is  the 
centre  and  collection  of  waters  from  the  rivers  and  foun- 
tains on  the  earth.  Italy  lies  too,  like  a  coot,  in  the  midst 
of  the  sea.  This  literal  fact  may  add  an  emphasis  to  the 
beauty  of  the  figure,  of  denoting  Italy  by  the  sea,  in  our 
text.  The  following  fact  too,  may  add  to  its  beauty. 
Italy  was,  at  the  time  of  this  vial,  in  the  16th  century,  a 
collection  of  different  states  and  governments  of  contend- 
ing interests,  like  a  tumultuous  sea.  Some  of  its  territo- 
ries were  governed  by  civil  powers  ;  and  soriie  by  ecclesi- 
astical. The  education  of  the  latter,  and  their  genius  and 
connections  with  the  court  of  Rome,  rendered  them  so 
different  from  the  other  princes,  that  it  was  an  unhappy 
source  of  jealousy  and  discord.     This  gave  them  a  resem- 


CHAPTER    XVI.  289 

blance  to  the  tumultuous  sea.  And  the  tumultuous  con- 
dition into  which  Italy  was  thrown,  at  the  period  of 
the  second  vial,  shows  that  it  was,  indeed,  a  mystical  sea. 
The  sea  is  an  emblem  of  any  nation  in  the  tempest  of  war ; 
as  Psalm  xlvi.  3,  ^*  Though  the  mountains  be  carried  into 
the  midst  of  the  sea ;  though  the  waters  thereof  roar  and 
be  troubled ;  though  the  mountains  shake  wiih  the  swell- 
ing thereof;  alluding  to  the  revolution  of  nations,  in  the 
battle  of  that  great  day  of  God.  As  the  event  in  our  text 
alludes  to  the  tremendous  judgment  on  the  papal  system  ; 
so  the  central  part  of  this  system,  Italy,  must  be  here  de- 
noted by  the  sea. 

The  event  in  the  text  may  have  been  typified  by  the 
turning  of  the  waters  to  blood,  in  the  plagues  on  Egypt. 
Some  of  those  plagues  were  manifestly  typical  of  some  of 
the  vials  in  the  last  days,  as  will  be  shown  in  its  place. 
And  that  judgment,  of  turning  their  waters  to  blood,  may 
have  been  one  of  them. 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  way  had  been  preparing  for 
the  16th  century  to  open  a  new  era  of  judgments  on  the 
Roman  earth.  The  inventions  of  gunpowder,  and  of  fire- 
arms, a  little  before  this  period ; — the  training  of  regular 
standing  armies,  the  extending  of  the  prerogatives  of  the 
crown,  so  that  the  power  of  a  nation  might  be  brought  into 
operation  at  the  will  of  a  despot ; — and  the  fact,  that  a 
number  of  most  warlike  and  powerful  potentates  had  at 
that  time  ascended  the  thrones  of  the  contiguous  nations, 
as  has  been  stated ; — these  things  portended  the  com- 
mencement of  most  disastrous  and  bloody  times. 

Charles  V.  was  born  in  the  year  1500.  Upon  the  death 
of  his  father  Philip,  archduke  of  Austria,  he  became  heir 
to  the  throne  of  Spain.  And  upon  the  death  of  his  grand- 
father, Maximilian,  emperor  of  Germany,  Charles  and 
Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  became  competitors  for  the 
imperial  crown  of  Germany.  Pope  Leo  X.  (then  in  the 
papal  chair)  trembled  at  what  he  saw,  and  predicted  that 
"  the  election  of  either  Charles  or  Francis  would  be  fatal 
to  the  independence  of  the  papal  see,  to  the  peace  of  Italy, 
and  perhaps  to  the  liberties  of  Europe."  And  events  soon 
decided  that  Leo  had  not  trembled  in  vain.  Charles  ob- 
tained the  imperial  crown  ;  upon  which  the  haughty  Fran- 
cis felt  all  the  chagrin  and  rage  of  a  disappointed  rival. 
These  two  powerful  monarchs  now  commenced  vast 
Bb 


290  LECTURE  xxni. 

preparations  for  war;  and  Italy  (the  sea  in  our  text) 
became  the  theatre  on  which  the  greatest  powers  of 
Europe,  for  fifty  years,  contended  for  victory.  Its  fairest 
fields  were  for  this  period  turned  to  fields  of  blood.  In 
nearly  twenty  campaigns,  these  two  mightiest  of  potentates 
furiously  contended  for  Milan,  Naples,  or  some  other 
Italian  state  ; — repeatedly  leading  into  the  field  with  them 
hosts  of  allies  from  other  nations.  Success  smiled  some- 
times upon  the  one  ;  and  sometimes  upon  the  other.  And 
the  terrified  pope  was  in  alliance  sometimes  with  the  one; 
and  sometimes  with  the  other,  attempting  just  to  save  him- 
self from  present  destruction  ; — vexed  and  terrified  by  the 
fury  of  these  two  bloody  sons  of  his  communion. 

It  must  here  be  noted,  that  this  second  vial  of  wrath 
(poured  upon  the  Italian  sea,  and  turning  it  to  blood)  was 
not  deferred  till  the  first  vial  (exhibiting  the  abominations 
of  popery)  was  finished.  They  were  of  such  a  nature, 
that  they  must,  of  necessity,  be  found  operating  at  the  same 
time  ; — the  second  to  afford  protection  to  the  agents  of  the 
first.  A  writer  says,  *'  It  is  nowhere  said  that  each  vial 
is  emptied  before  its  successor  commences  its  operation. 
And  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  conclude  that  two  or  more 
of  the  vials  may  be  pouring  out  at  the  same  time ;  -though 
the  effusion  of  the  one  commences  before  that  of  the  other." 
The  two  first  vials  were  of  a  nature  wholly  diff*erent ;  the 
second  must  commence  soon  after  the  first,  to  protect  its 
operation.  In  this  the  divine  wisdom  and  mercy  were 
manifest.  By  the  bloody  events  of  the  second  vial,  employ- 
ment for  the  enemies  of  the  Reformation  was  furnished,  to 
prevent  their  being  able  to  destroy  the  reformers,  as  they 
otherwise  would  have  done.  The  first  vial  drew  aside 
the  veil  from  the  papal  abominauons.  But  how  soon  and 
sorely  must  this  have  occasioned  the  ruin  of  the  reformers, 
had  the  pope  and  the  papal  powers  been  at  leisure  to  point 
and  drive  their  thunder  against  them  ?  They  must,  in  such 
a  case,  have  been  sacrificed  at  once.  To  secure  the  effects 
of  the  first  vial,  the  second  must  commence  soon  after  the 
opening  of  it.  The  Reformation  was  of  a  nature  to  be  of 
long  continuance.  The  succeeding  vials  then,  must  com- 
mence while  it  was  fulfilling.  Were  you  about  to  destroy 
a  nest  of  vipers  that  infest  your  premises,  and  you  had 
directed  a  little  son  to  throw  oflf  the  cover  under  which 
they  are  hid ;  would  you  not  be  ready,  at  the  same  time, 


CHAPTER    XVI.  291 

with  proper  weapons,  to  commence  the  business  of  their 
destruction,  and  thus  prevent  their  destroying  him  l  In 
viewing  the  events  of  the  apocalyptic  seals,  trumpets,  and 
vials,  we  find  them  commencing  at  unequal  lengths  of  time; 
and  their  effects  are  sometimes  synchronical.  This  re- 
mark holds  true  especially  of  the  first  four  of  the  seals, 
trumpets,  and  vials  ;  but  not  so  of  the  last  three.  The 
latter  were  to  be  more  interesting,  and  more  distinct,  in 
point  of  ti?ne,  as  well  as  evejit. 

Soon  after  Charles  had  ascended  the  imperial  throne, 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation,  he  was  urged 
by  the  papal  powers  to  repair  to  Germany,  on  account  of 
the  innovations  in  religion  which  had  there  taken  place. 
He  was  assured  that  "  unknown  opinions  in  religion  had 
been  published,  such  as  had  thrown  the  minds  of  men  into 
a  universal  agitation,  and  threatened  the  most  violent 
efifects ;  and  that  they  had  made  such  rapid  progress,  as 
to  require  the  most  serious  consideration."  The  emperor, 
consequently,  convoked  the  diet  of  German  princes  at 
Worms ;  and  in  his  address  to  them  said,  "  We  are  con-^ 
vened  to  concert  the  most  proper  measures  for  checking 
the  progress, of  those  new  and  dangerous  opinions  which 
threaten  to  disturb  the  peace  of  Germany,  and  to  overturr) 
the  religion  of  our  ancestors,"  Now,  had  not  this  cham-' 
pion  of  papal  influence,  and  the  other  papal  authorities, 
been  providentially  diverted  from  this  object,  by  the  scenes 
of  war  into  which  they  were  plunged  ;  how  soon  must  the 
reformers  have  been  utterly  destroyed  ?  But  God  speedily 
furnished  these  powerful  enemies,  now  rising  on  tiptoe  to 
crush  them,  with  a  sufficiency  of  other  employments,  and 
these  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  be  received  as  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  second  vial.  The  principal  actors  in  the 
bloody  scenes  of  this  vial  were  the  emperor  Charles  V. 
(who  was  at  the  same  time  king  of  Spain  and  Naples), 
and  the  king  of  France,  Francis  L,  combining  at  times  the 
pope  ;  Solyman,  emperor  of  the  Turks  ;  the  king  of  Hun- 
gary ;  the  king  of  Bohemia ;  and,  more  than  once,  Henry 
VIIL,  king  of  Britain.  The  pope  himself,  more  than  once, 
was  a  prisoner  to  some  one  of  the  chieftains ;  and  his 
capital  was  plundered.  At  a  time  when  he  was  in  alliance 
with  Francis,  a  cardinal,  who  had  been  a  rival  for  the  papal 
chair,  marched,  at  the  instigation  of  Charles,  at  the  head 
of  an   army,   seized  the  gates  of  his  capital,  and  dis« 


292  LECTURE  xxin. 

persed  his  guards.  The  infallible  pontiff  fled  to  the  cas- 
tle of  St.  Angelo,  which  was  soon  besieged.  The  palace 
of  the  Vatican,  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  and  the  houses  of 
the  pope's  ministers  and  servants,  were  plundered.  The 
pope  capitulated ;  and  was  forced  to  grant  to  this  cardinal 
a  full  pardon  of  all  this  treatment  of  his  high  dignity;  and 
to  engage  an  immediate  withdrawing  of  his  troops  that 
were  fighting  against  Charles.  Bourbon,  another  imperial 
general,  led  against  the  pope  25,000  veteran  troops.  Ter- 
rified at  this,  the  pontiff  agreed  to  a  suspension  of  arms 
against  the  emperor,  and  to  pay  60,000  crowns  towards 
the  support  of  the  armies  of  Charles.  But  even  then,  the 
25,000  men  pursued  their  march  against  Rome, — scaled 
its  walls,  and  took  the  city.  The  pope  and  thirteen  of  his 
cardinals  fled  to  the  castle  of  St.  Antonio ;  on  his  way  to 
which,  he  had  the  inexpressible  horror  to  see  his  troops 
flying  before  the  enemy,  who  gave  them  no  quarter ;  and 
to  hear  the  cries  and  lamentations  of  the  people  of  Rome. 
The  scene  that  followed  was  dreadful.  The  leader  of  this 
invasion  fell  in  the  siege,  and  left  his  men  unrestrained. 
And  whatever  a  city,  taken  by  storm,  can  dread  from 
military  rage ;  whatever  horrors  the  ferocity  of  Ger- 
mans, the  avarice  of  Spaniards,  and  the  licentiousness  of 
Italians  can  inflict,  these  miserable  Romans  had  to  endure. 
Churches,  palaces,  and  private  houses  were  plundered 
without  distinction.  No  age,  character,  or  sex  was  ex- 
empt. Cardinals,  nobles,  priests,  matrons,  virgins,  all 
were  a  prey  to  an  enraged,  brutal  soldiery,  deaf  to  every 
call  of  humanity.  And  these  25,000  armed  plunderers 
had  the  undisturbed  possession  of  that  vast  and  rich  city 
for  several  months,  in  which  time  their  brutality  scarcely 
abated.  Rome  had  been  taken  and  plundered  at  various 
times,  in  ages  then  past,  by  Huns,  Goths,  and  Vandals. 
But  good  authority  asserts,  that  it  never  experienced  such 
severity  from  those  ancient  barbarians,  as  it  found  at  this 
time.  If  those  ancient  scenes  then,  were  trumpets  of  di- 
vine wrath ;  this  surely  may  be  considered  a  vial  of  wrath,f 
when  viewed  in  connexion  with  those  bloody  scenes  of 
fifty  years,  in  that  seat  of  the  papal  delusion.  And,  if  we 
here  find  one  of  the  vials  of  wrath  ;  it  must  have  been  the 
second,  with  whose  language  and  chronology  these  events 
fully  agree. 

While  the  pope  and  his  thirteen  cardinals  were  thus 


CHAPTER  XVI.  293 

confined  in  his  castle  of  St.  Antonio,  the  duke  of  Urbano, 
a  general  of  the  king  of  France,  who  was  then  in  alliance 
with  the  pope,  arrived  at  Rome  with  an  army  sufficient  to 
have  relieved  the  city.  When  the  pope,  from  the  ramparts 
of  his  castle,  beheld  them,  he  leaped  for  joy,  believing 
that  his  deliverance  had  now  arrived.  But  the  duke  having 
had  a  private  pique  against  him,  when  he  came  in  sight  of 
the  plundering  invaders,  wheeled  about  his  army,  as  though 
an  attempt  to  dislodge  them  was  too  hazardous,  and  left 
the  pope  and  his  capital  in  all  their  wretchedness.  Their 
scenes  of  horror  were  not  yet  to  be  closed,  but  were  to  be 
increased.  The  Florentines  now  cast  off  their  allegiance 
to  the  pope ;  and,  breaking  in  pieces  his  statue,  they 
re-established  their  ancient  popular  government.  The  Ve- 
netians seized  Ravenna,  the  pope's  most  delightful  province; 
and  other  parts  of  his  temporal  dominion.  Other  princes 
too  seized  other  property  belonging  to  the  pope,  whom  they 
considered  now  as  ruined.  And,  to  finish  the  climax  of 
his  wretchedness,  three  other  generals  of  Charles,  then  in 
Italy,  marched  their  armies  to  Rome ;  not  to  deliver  it 
indeed;  but  to  swell  its  tide  of  wo !  These  new  armies, 
envying  the  plunders  of  the  25,000,  who  first  scoured  the 
vast  city,  set  themselves  with  the  utmost  rapacity  to  col- 
lect the  gleanings  which  had  been  left.  These  were,  in- 
deed, new  times  to  his  professed  Holiness,  who  had  set 
his  seat  above  the  stars,  and  "  exalted  himself  above  all 
that  was  called  God  or  worshipped." 

The  pope,  after  being  reduced  by  famine,  and  after 
having  been  fed  for  a  time  on  asses'  flesh,  capitulated, 
and  hired  his  plunderers  to  retire, — giving  them  a  vast 
sum, — and  surrendering  to  Charles  all  the  places  of 
strength  belonging  to  the  papal  see  ;  and  giving  hostages, 
and  remaining  himself  a  prisoner  till  the  articles  of  capitu- 
lation should  be  fulfilled.  These  tremendous  scenes  fur- 
nished him  with  a  six  months'  imprisonment.  And  he  then 
obtained  his  liberty  only  with  the  additional  sum  of 
350,000  crowns.  Thus  were  swept  from  his  coflfers 
some  of  the  treasures  which  he  had  amassed  from  the  sale 
of  indulgences,  pardons,  and  hosts  of  other  impositions  ! 
At  these  things  all  Europe  were  struck  with  horror !  They 
discovered  such  a  contrast  between  such  instances  of 
furious  treatment  of  the  holy  father,  and  any  thing  that 
Bb2 


294  LECTURE    XXIII. 

had  ever  before  occurred,  or  which  they  could  have  con- 
ceived as  possible,  that  their  amazement  was  vast.  AH 
these  things  tended  to  confirm  the  doctrines  of  the  Re- 
formation, and  to  set  them  beyond  the  control  of  all  the 
thunders  of  the  Vatican.  The  emperor  Charles,  when  he 
had  sufficiently  indulged  his  resentments  at  the  union  of 
the  pope  with  the  king  of  France,  feigned  sorrow  for  the 
great  indignities  done  to  his  holiness,  and  restored  him  his 
church  lands. 

I  might  proceed  to  detail  the  terrors  of  those  times  ;  the 
wars  of  the  Ottoman  emperor  with  the  papal  powers ;  the 
ravaging  of  Naples  by  a  Turkish  admiral ;  the  plundering 
and  burning  of  Regio  ;  and  the  ravaging  and  burning  of  the 
coasts  of  Naples  and  of  Tuscany  by  the  same  ;  the  civil 
wars  that  broke  out  in  Italy  ;  the  attempt  of  the  pope  and 
Charles  to  crush  the  league  of  Smalcald  ;  the  disastrous 
attempt  of  Charles  to  regulate  things  to  his  own  mind  on 
the  coasts  of  Barbary,  in  which  he  utterly  failed,  and  the 
flower  of  the  Italian  youth  were  sacrificed  ;  and  other  tre- 
mendous scenes,  in  which  the  ambitious  veteran  Charles 
felt  himself  exhausted  to  that  degree,  that  he  abdicated 
his  throne  to  his  son  Philip,  and  retired  from  society. 
But  enough  has  been  exhibited  to  evince  the  magnitude 
and  terrors  of  the  scenes  which  are  presented  as  a  ful- 
filment of  the  second  vial.  The  German  emperor  and 
the  king  of  France  were  the  prime  instruments  of  this  cup 
of  wrath.  And  the  fact,  that  the  warlike  and  potent 
Charles  spent  his  imperial  life,  and  exhausted  his  treasures 
in  those  scenes  of  horror,  till  he  was  glad  to  leap  from  his 
throne,  and  retire  from  the  face  of  man, — bespeaks  their 
magnitude.  To  prepare  the  way  for  his  abdication, 
Charles  proposed  peace  to  the  king  of  France,  which  was 
established.  He  wished  to  have  the  merit,  when  quitting 
his  imperial  dignity,  of  establishing  that  tranquillity  in  Eu- 
rope, which,  for  fifty  years,  he  had  banished  from  it ;  and 
this  he  accomplished.  The  greatness  of  these  terrors  is 
exhibited  too  in  arguments  which  the  pope  afterwards 
pleaded  with  the  king  of  France,  to  induce  him  to  break  his 
treaty  with  the  successor  of  Charles,  "  that  the  flower  of 
the  veteran  Spanish  bands  had  perished  in  these  wars  ; 
that  Charles  had  left  his  son  an  exhausted  treasury,  and  a 
kingdom  drained  of  men ;  and  that  the  king  of  France 


CHAPTER   XVI.  295 

might  now  drive  the  Spaniards  out  of  Naples,  and  add  to 
his  crown  a  kingdom  in  Italy,  the  conquest  of  which  had 
been  so  great  an  object  of  his  ambition  for  half  a  century. 

A  general  peace  now  ensued  (A.  D.  1559) ;  upon 
which  the  historian  says,  "  From  this  period  Italy  ceased 
to  be  the  great  theatre  on  which  the  monarchs  of  Ger- 
many, Spain,  and  France  contended  for  power  and  fame. 
Their  dissensions  and  hostiUties,  though  afterwards  as 
frequent  and  violent  as  ever,  were  excited  by  new  objects, 
and  stained  other  regions  of  Europe  with  blood,  and  ren- 
dered them  miserable  in  their  turn  by  the  devastations  of 
war."     (Robertson's  Charles  V.,  vol.  iv.  p.  261.) 

Here,  then,  is  the  close  of  the  vial  on  the  sea  in  our 
text.  The  third  vial,  that  on  the  rivers  and  fountains  of 
water  (other  papal  nations),  was  to  follow  after  an  inter- 
val. The  historian  adds,  "  exhausted  by  extraordinary- 
efforts,  which  far  exceeded  those  to  which  the  nations  of 
Europe  had  been  accustomed,  before  the  rivalship  of 
Charles  and  Francis,  both  nations  longed  for  repose." 
And  in  the  peace  which  ensued,  great  pains  were  taken, 
by  intermarriages  and  mutual  concessions,  to  give  it  a 
decided  permanency.  All  past  transactions  were  to  be 
buried  in  oblivion. 

Most  of  the  states  and  nations  in  Europe  were  to  be  com- 
prehended in  this  peace  of  1 559 ;  and  we  are  assured,  "  most 
of  the  personages  who  had  long  sustained  the  principal 
characters  on  the  stage  of  Europe,  disappeared  about  the 
same  time  ;  and  a  period,  better  known  in  history,  opened 
upon  us.  Other  actors  entered  on  the  stage,  and  with 
different  views  and  passions.  New  contests  arose,  and 
new  schemes  of  ambition  sprang  up,  and  disquieted  man- 
kind." 

This  therefore  brings  us  to  the  close  of  the  second  vial, 
and  to  the  transition  to  the  third,  poured  on  the  rivers  and 
fountains  of  water,  which,  in  the  next  lecture,  will  be 
considered. 

We  reflect,  what  must  now  be  the  views  of  those  am- 
bitious bloody  men  who,  more  than  300  years  ago,  ex- 
cited and  maintained  that  blaze  of  war,  which,  for  fifty 
years,  turned  Italy  to  blood,  and  sent  to  a  premature  grave 
millions  of  the  flower  of  the  human  race?  The  souls  of 
Charles  V.,  of  Francis  I.,  and  of  all  the  human  butchers 


296  LECTURE   XXIII. 

of  that  period,  are  now  in  existence.  For  more  than  three 
centuries  they  have  been  situated  where  they  have  had 
the  most  clear  views  possible  of  the  importance  of  their 
day  of  grace,  how  they  improved  it,  and  what  must  be 
the  eternal  consequences  !  How  vastly  insignificant  must 
those  temporal  ambitious  objects  now  appear  to  them 
which  excited  those  scenes  of  contention  and  blood  !  A 
most  piercing  view  they  must  now  have  of  the  day  in 
which  all  they  have  done  must  be  unfolded,  by  the  infinite, 
righteous  Judge,  before  the  assembled  universe  ;  when  all 
the  deeds  of  man  on  earth  shall  be  unfolded,  and  all  men  shall 
be  rewarded  according  to  their  deeds.  A  most  feeling  view 
of  these  things  does,  this  moment,  flash  like  the  keenest 
lightning,  through  the  souls  of  all  such  men  of  blood,  who 
died  in  their  sins.  Three  hundred  years,  and  three  mil- 
lions, will  bring  them  no  relief.  The  last  great  day  will 
give  an  infinite  interest  to  the  history  of  nations,  not  as 
events  political,  but  as  events  of  God's  government  for  the 
fulfilment  of  his  word,  the  salvation  of  his  church,  and  the 
ruin  of  her  enemies,  "  to  the  intent,  that  unto  tlie  princi- 
palities and  powers,  in  the  heavenly  places,  may  be  known 
by  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God."  This  will 
be  one  blessed  employment  of  the  eternal  world  of  glory, 
to  trace  the  lines  of  the  divine  government,  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  in  the  whole  history  of  the  world,  which  will  then 
lie  open  no  doubt  to  universal  inspection.  Great,  then,  is 
the  advantage  of  the  believer  over  the  man  of  the  world, 
in  glancing  his  eye  over  the  events  of  the  nations,  as  me- 
thods of  infinite  wisdom,  to  fulfil  the  sacred  oracles,  and 
advance  his  kingdom  of  salvation.  The  latter  employ- 
ment (the  employment  of  the  true  believer)  never  excludes 
God  from  his  own  work,  as  would  the  wicked  world,  but 
beholds  him  in  every  thing  ;  to  meditate  on  the  history  of 
nations  in  the  light  of  the  prophecies,  and  to  see  the  latter 
fulfilled  in  the  former,  is  a  delightful  exercise  of  faith,  and 
it  inspires  the  pious  exclamation,  "  AUaluia ;  for  the  Lord 
God  Omnipotent  reigneth !" 

Our  lecture  gives  a  lively  comment  on  the  sacred  pas- 
sage, "  Surely,  the  wrath  of  men  shall  praise  thee,  and 
the  remainder  of  wrath  thou  wilt  restrain."  Behold  the 
pious  Luther,  and  the  reformers  pursuing  their  great  work 
of  taking  the  fatal  bandages  of  death  from  the  eyes  of 


CHAPTER   XVI.  J  297 

papal  millions.  And  behold  the  pope  launching  his  bolts 
of  thunder,  which  hitherto,  and  for  many  centuries,  had 
been  able  to  plunge  emperors  and  kings  in  ruin, — hurled 
in  vain  at  the  head  of  the  reformer  ! 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


REVELATION    XVI. 

Vial  III. 

Ver.  4.  And  the  third  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
upon  the  rivers  and  fountains  of  waters  :  and  they 
became  blood. 

5.  And  I  heard  the  angel  of  the  v^^aters  say,  Thou 
art  righteous,  0  Lord,  which  art,  and  wast,  and  shalt 
be,  because  thou  hast  judged  thus. 

6.  For  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and  pro- 
phets, and  thou  hast  given  them  blood  to  drink  :  for 
they  are  worthy. 

7.  And  I  heard  another  out  of  the  altar  say,  Even 
so.  Lord  God  Almighty,  true  and  righteous  are  thy 
judgments. 

As  the  sea  in  the  second  vial  has  been  shown  to  mean 
Italy,  the  seat  of  popery,  so  the  rivers  and  fountains  of 
water  in  this  vial  must  denote  the  other  papal  nations.  It 
might  be  shown  from  the  prophets,  that  rivers  and  foun- 
tains of  water  are  noted  emblems  of  nations.  And  the 
papal  nations  were  then  about  to  receive  that  portion  of 
these  seven  last  plagues  noted  in  the  fourth  vial.  Various 
of  the  great  papal  nations  that  had  been  instrumental  in 
the  judgment  of  the  second  vial  on  Italy,  should  now  have 
a  share  also  in  the  third  vial  of  wrath.  Most  manifest  is 
the  historic  transition  from  the  events  of  the  second  to 
those  of  the  third  vial.  The  historian  of  Charles  V.  says, 
after  noting  the  general  peace  of  1559  ;  "  From  this  pe- 


298  LECTURE    XXVI. 

riod,  Italy  ceased  to  be  the  great  theatre  on  which  the  great 
monarchs  of  Spam,  France,  and  Germany  contended  for 
power  and  fame.  Their  dissensions  and  hostihties,  though 
as  frequent  and  violent  as  ever,  were  excited  by  new  ob- 
jects, and  stained  other  regions  in  Europe  with  blood,  and 
rendered  them  miserable  in  their  turn  by  the  devastations 
of  war."  He  says  again,  upon  the  close  of  the  wars  in 
Italy,  "  The  nations  of  Europe  united  in  a  general  peace. 
All  causes  of  discord,  which  had  so  long  embroiled  the 
powerful  monarchs  of  France  and  Spain,  seemed  to  be 
wholly  removed,  and  finally  terminated.  Other  actors 
entered  upon  the  stage  with  different  views,  as  well  as 
different  passions.  New  contests  arose,  and  new  schemes 
of  ambition  occupied  and  disquieted  mankind."  This  his- 
torian had  no  view  of  recording  events  which  fulfilled 
these  vials  of  wrath,  but  to  write  as  a  true  historian.  But 
the  events  are  direct  to  our  purpose.  After  the  second 
vial  ceased,  the  third  was  to  commence.  The  same  kind 
of  judgments  were  to  be  executed  on  other  papal  nations; 
and  so  was  the  fact. 

To  give  a  full  view  of  the  wars  which  fulfilled  this  third 
vial,  would  be  to  write  the  history  of  the  wars  of  Europe 
for  a  century.  A  sketch  of  these  events  may  be  very  ap- 
propriate in  this  religious  lecture, — viewing  them  as  events 
of  the  divine  government  in  fulfilment  of  God's  word  to 
Zion,  and  of  his  justice  upon  her  enemies,  according  to 
the  sentiment  of  the  angels  in  our  text.  In  the  sketches 
of  those  judgments  now  to  be  given,  we  behold  Jesus 
Christ,  as  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  pleading  the  cause 
of  his  church,  avenging  the  blood  of  his  martyrs,  and  call- 
ing anew  on  his  people  to  confide  in  him.  This  is  the 
sentiment  which  we  must  renewedly  feel  in  the  contem- 
plation of  these  events  of  vindictive  justice  on  the  papal 
enemies  of  Zion.  This  will  give  a  new  and  a  religious 
interest  to  those  wars  in  Europe.  One  great  cause  of 
these  bloody  scenes  of  strife  was  the  growing  power,  and 
the  dreaded  ambition,  of  the  house  of  Austria.  Great  ter- 
ritories had  descended  to  Charles  V.  from  his  rich  ances- 
tors. These,  together  with  the  new  world  of  South  Ame- 
rica, which  had  become  subject  to  his  control,  he  trans- 
mitted to  his  son  Philip,  king  of  Spain, — to  whom  he 
delivered  up  his  dominions  and  royal  prerogatives,  which 
he  had  much  improved  ;  for  his  subjects  had  become  ac» 


CHAPTER    XVL  299 

customed  to  subordination,  and  to  expenses,  and  efforts, 
unknown   in  Europe   till   his   reign.     Every  thing  had 
seemed  to  conspire  to  add  power  and  grandeur  to  this  prime 
branch  of  the  house  of  Austria,  to  render  Philip  most  for- 
midable to  the  other  European  powers.     Ferdinand,  too, 
the  brother  of  Charles  V.,  and  minor  branch  of  the  house 
of  Austria,  was  formidable.     He  had  been  crowned  em- 
peror of  Germany,  and  king  of  the  Romans  ;  and  he  had, 
by  marriage,  obtained  the  crowns  of  Hungary  and  Bohe- 
mia, and   was   thus   a   powerful  monarch.     These   two 
branches  of  the  house  of  Austria  were,  for  a  while,  hos- 
tile to  each  other,  which  in  a  degree  lessened  the  fears 
of  the   other  European  princes.     But   mutual   interest 
soon  led  them  to  unite  their  views  and  powers  for  their 
family  aggrandizement,  to  the  vast  terror  of  surrounding 
nations,  who,  for  about  a  century,  had  it  as  their  common 
object  to  check  this   growing  tyrannical  power.     This 
general  terror  gained  strength,  and  grew  into  strong  na- 
tional habits  ;  the  influence  of  which  was  deeply  felt  even 
after  the  power  of  the  house  of  Austria  was  abating,  and 
the  primary  cause  of  the  terrors  had  in  a  great  degree 
ceased.     These   things    occasioned   in   Europe   terrible 
scenes  of  bloody  strife.     In  the  wars  in  Italy,  aforenoted, 
the  nations  of  Europe  had  become  more  than  ever  before 
acquainted  with  their  own  internal  resources  and  strength 
for  war,  and  had  learned  how  a  nation  may  put  itself  in 
the  most  formidable  attitude.     And  they  had  also  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  a  necessity  of  supporting  a  balance  of 
power  among  the  European  nations, — the  maintenance  of 
which  kept  them  in  an  almost  incessant  blaze  of  war  ;  a 
few  particulars  of  which  wars  shall  be  concisely  noted  to 
illustrate  the  judgment  of  this  vial. 

The  Netherlands  were  under  Philip,  king  of  Spain. 
But  the  bigoted  and  violent  maxims  of  his  government  be- 
ing attempted  to  be  carried  there  into  rigorous  execution, 
that  people  became  exasperated,  and  threw  off  the  yoke, 
asserting  their  ancient  liberties  and  laws.  This  occa- 
sioned a  tremendous  and  bloody  struggle  for  nearly  half 
a  century,  in  which  the  English  and  the  Dutch  united 
against  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  Dutch  became  esta- 
blished in  their  ancient  liberties,  to  the  great  mortification 
©f  the  Spanish  monarchy. 

England  and  Spain  had  before  contended  in  war.    The 


300  LECTURE    XXIV. 

bigoted  Catholic  Philip  had  tendered  marriage  to  the  Pro- 
testant Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  who  wisely  refused 
his  suit.  And  to  gratify  his  resentment  of  this  refusal,  he 
employed  his  immense  wealth,  which  was  flowing  into  his 
coffers  from  the  gold  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  to  prepare 
a  huge  fleet  to  make  a  descent  upon  England.  Many  of 
his  ships  prepared  for  this  enterprise,  were  of  the  largest 
kind, — larger  than  had  ever  before  been  seen, — a  madness 
well  worthy  of  an  ignorant,  bigoted,  revengeful  papal  mo- 
narch ;  but  which  ended  in  his  own  vast  humiliation ! 
The  English  fleet  met  them ;  and  after  tremendous  fight- 
ing, dispersed  them ;  and  a  tempest  plunged  most  of  them 
that  remained  into  the  heart  of  the  ocean.  Eighty-one 
Spanish  ships  were,  in  this  catastrophe,  lost,  and  hosts  of 
men.  The  British  now  in  their  turn  made  a  descent  upon 
Spain,  plundered  Cadiz,  and  scourged  their  foe. 

A  relative  of  Louis  XIV.  kingof  France,  now  ascended 
the  throne  of  Spain,  and  alienated  it  from  the  house  of 
Austria  to  that  of  Bourbon.  This  occasioned  a  long  and 
bloody  contention  between  Louis  and  the  house  of  Aus- 
tria ;  in  which  the  bigoted  French  monarch  was  well  nigh 
ruined.  And  these  persecuting  papal  nations  had  thus  a 
tremendous  share  of  this  vial  of  divine  wrath.  This 
French  monarch  had  repealed  the  edict  of  Nantz ;  and 
had  destroyed  and  banished  many  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  his  Protestant  and  best  subjects,  in  a  short  time.  And 
tremendous  divine  judgments  were  thundered  down  upon 
his  empire.  In  eight  successive  civil  wars  in  France,  that 
land  was  drenched  in  blood.  One  of  these  civil  conten- 
tions continued  for  twenty  years.  And  the  wars  of  Louis 
XIV.  have  a  strong  interlining  in  the  histories  of  Europe, 
in  the  period  of  his  reign.  After  his  horrid  treatment  of  the 
Protestants;  he  made  treaties  and  broke  them  at  pleasure; 
till  he  raised  against  himself  a  confederacy  of  most  of 
the  powerful  Europian  princes.  Against  all  these,  he,  for 
some  time,  stood  his  ground ;  till  the  English  duke  of 
Marlborough,  and  the  German  prince  Eugene,  led  their 
united  arms  against  him,  and  rendered  the  latter  years  of 
his  reign  most  disastrous.  For  a  course  of  years,  at  the 
opening  of  the  18lh  century,  Louis  was  tortured  with  de- 
feats and  terrors.  Reduced,  and  old,  he  was  forming  the 
desperate  purpose  of  collecting  his  people,  and  dying  at 
their  head,  if  he  could  not  retrieve  his  affairs ;  when  the 


CHAPTER   XVI.  301 

peace  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  was  concluded;  and  the  com- 
bined armies  retired.  France  had  thus  a  full  share  in  this 
vial  of  wrath. 

Germany,  too,  had  a  share  of  it.  In  wars,  domestic 
and  foreign,  their  fields  became  fields  of  blood  ;  as  the 
histories  of  these  times  assure  us.  And  the  Hungarians 
had  also  bloody  contentions  with  the  emperor  Rudolf; 
as  had  the  Bohemians.  The  latter  threw  the  emperor's 
commissioners  out  at  the  window  at  Prague ;  and  a 
furious  war  of  thirty  years  ensued.  Great  battles  were 
fought  in  Germany  under  the  ablest  generals  of  the  age. 
The  German  empire  had  long  been  a  bloody  executioner 
of  papal  vengeance,  against  the  innocent  and  pious  wit- 
nesses, in  the  dark  ages  ;  and  God  now  gave  them  blood 
to  drink,  in  great  measure.  Nor  did  their  bloody  scenes 
soon  end.  Both  France  and  the  Turks  were  again  at  war 
with  them.  The  French  seized  on  Alsace,  and  some 
prime  German  cities.  The  Turks  too,  had  laid  siege  to 
Vienna,  and  well  nigh  carried  the  place.  And  the  Eng- 
lish George  I.  was  found  contending  with  Germany. 
The  objects  of  these  dashing  of  nations  against  each  other, 
■were  trifling.  Says  Guthrie,  "  so  unsteady  was  the  sys- 
tem of  affairs  all  over  Europe,  at  that  time,  that  the  first 
powers  often  changed  their  old  alliances,  and  concluded 
new  ones,  contrary  to  their  manifest  interests."  What 
account  can  be  given  of  this,  but  the  one  in  our  text? 
This  fully  accounts  for  all.  They  had  shed  the  blood  of 
saints,  and  they  should  have  blood  to  drink.  See  the  fol- 
lowing fact,  as  an  instance  of  the  truth  of  this. 

After  the  year  1740,  a  new  blaze  of  war  broke  out  in 
Europe,  occasioned  by  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  so  called. 
A  concordat  of  German  princes  was  formed  under  the 
name  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  to  give  the  election  of 
the  emperor  of  Germany  to  the  electoral  college,  and  to 
exclude  the  pope  from  having  any  part  in  this  election. 
And  what  mighty  thing  was  this  ?  O,  it  was  enough  to 
set  all  Europe  in  a  violent  blaze.  To  exclude  his 
holiness  from  the  right  of  aiding  in  the  election  of  an  em- 
peror of  Germany !  Most  horrible !  Such  were  the 
limes.  Hundreds  of  thousands  should  bleed,  and  millions 
of  wealth  be  expended,  rather  than  such  an  indignity 
should  be  offered  to  the  pope.  It  would  be  both  affect- 
ing and  amusing,  to  hear  the  wars  and  battles  occasioned 
Cc 


^02  LfiCTURE  XXIV. 

by  this  foreign  quiddity.  But  these  must  here  be  passed. 
The  historian  remarks  upon  them,  that  though  they  were 
bloody  and  terrible,  they  were  "  of  little  importance  to 
history,  because  nothing  was  done  that  was  decisive." 
The  fact  was,  they  were  but  the  mad  dashings  of  papal 
nations  against  each  other,  in  fulfilment  of  the  judgment 
in  our  text.  No  doubt  the  Jesuits,  then  powerful  in  the 
courts  of  Europe,  had  a  hand  in  all  this. 

Some  particulars  of  the  judgment  of  this  vial  on  one 
more  papal  nation,  shall  be  added  in  a  subjoined  note.* 

'  *  Poland  had  a  full  share  in  this  vial  of  wrath.  Our  hearts  have 
bled  for  the  abuses  she  has  received  from  tyrants :  but  her  sins, 
and  her  part  in  the  judgment  in  our  text,  must  be  impartially  noted. 
Poland  has  been  a  bigoted  Roman  Catholic  country.  The  Reforma- 
tion made  some  advances  there,  and  the  Protestants  had  been  estab- 
lished by  law,  in  the  noted  treaty  of  Oliva.  But  the  Poles,  disre- 
garding afterwards  this  treaty,  and  excited  by  a  base  Catholic  clergy 
(led  no  doubt  by  the  Jesuits),  made  a  public  massacre  of  the  Protest- 
ants under  a  false  sanction  of  law  ;  and  their  judgments  did  not 
linger.     I  will  hint  some  of  them. 

Recollect  the  histories  of  those  times  :  their  long  and  bloody 
wars  with  Russia  and  Sweden,  in  which  they  were  put  to  the  worst. 
Their  unsuccessful  war  with  the  Turks.  The  civil  war  which  broke 
out  between  their  king  and  the  Cossacks  ;  when  the  latter  defeated 
the  Poles  in  two  great  battles.  The  Russians  and  Cossacks  after- 
wards took  several  of  their  first  cities,  and  committed  most  horrid 
lavages.  Charles  of  Sweden  overran  much  of  the  nation  with 
dreadful  slaughter.  And  such  was  the  state  of  the  nation,  that 
Casimir,  their  king,  abdicated  his  throne,  and  fled  to  France.  A 
weak  prince  was  placed  in  his  stead.  The  Cossacks,  in  union  with 
the  Turks,  conquered  several  of  their  most  powerful  provinces, 
ravaged  a  great  part  of  the  nation,  and  laid  the  Poles  under  tribute. 
The  nation  was  divided  into  different  confederacies,  their  crown 
was  set  up  to  the  highest  bidder  ;  one  bid  it  off;  and  another,  by  a 
sham  election,  was  crowned  as  their  king.  Bloody  scenes  ensued ; 
and  the  nation  presented  a  theatre  of  military  horrors.  Attempts 
were  again  made  to  afford  toleration  to  the  Protestants  ;  and  again 
the  papal  clergy  objected,  and  raged.  And  the  country  continued 
a  theatre  of  wars  ;  "  partly  civil,  partly  religious,  and  partly  for- 
eign." Many  first  characters  now  (finding  their  country  was  de- 
stroyed, and  had  become  a  field  of  blood)  fled  to  foreign  lands,  and 
for  ever  abandoned  their  native  soil.  The  plague  at  this  time  set  in, 
and  carried  off  250,000  of  the  remains  of  that  miserable  people. 
Attempts  were  made  to  assassinate  their  king.  And  to  give  a  more 
dreadful  edge  to  this  vial  of  wrath,  it  now  appeared  that  Russia, 
Prussia,  and  Germany  had  agreed  on  a  division  of  Poland  between 
themselves  ;  to  unite  each  his  third  to  his  own  dominions.  They 
forced  the  Poles  to  call  a  diet,  to  cede  those  portions  of  their  King- 
dom to  those  new  masters,  under  penalty  that  they  should  be  pyt 


CHAPTER   XVI.  303 

Most  easily  and  effectually  can  the  head  of  the  church 
plead  his  own  cause  against  persecutors.  And  he  instructs 
his  children  to  triumph  in  such  strains  as  the  following ; 
"  According  to  their  deeds,  accordingly  he  will  repay, 
fury  to  his  adversaries,  recompense  to  his  enemies!" 
"  The  floods  have  lifted  up,  O  Lord ;  the  floods  have 
lifted  up  their  voice.  But  the  Lord  on  high  is  mightier 
than  the  noise  of  many  waters  ;  than  the  mighty  waves  of 
the  sea!"     Such,  O  Zion,  is  thy  Salvation. 

under  military  execution  as  a  conquered  people.  Their  king  was 
forced  to  sign  this  arrangement ;  as  were  his  remaining  nobility, 
and  thus  to  annihilate  themselves.  Poland,  after  being  drenched  in 
blood,  was  thus  blotted  from  the  list  of  independent  nations.  And 
the  oppressions  of  the  miserable  Poles  which  followed,  were  most  in- 
tolerable. Twelve  thousand  families  were,  by  the  king  of  Prussia, 
torn  from  one  province  in  Poland,  to  people  distant  realms  of  his 
own  empire.  And  every  town  and  village  was  forced  to  furnish  a 
certain  number  of  marriageable  females,  and  to  accompany  each  one 
with  a  dower,  to  furnish  wives  for  peasants  in  distant  regions  in 
Prussia.  Some  of  these  young  females  were  bound,  and  carried  oflf 
as  criminals,  to  leave  dear  parents  and  all  their  family  connexions, 
and  see  them  no  more. 

These  were  people  defiled  with  the  blood  of  martyrs  ;  where 
equal  rights  were  denied  to  Protestants  ;  and  where  vast  multitudes 
of  the  latter  had  been  massacred,  under  pretence  of  law. 


LECTURE   XXV. 


REVELATION    XVI. 

Vial  IV. 

Yer.  8.  And  the  fourth  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
upon  the  sun ;  and  power  was  given  unto  him  to 
scorch  men  with  fire. 

9.  And  men  were  scorched  with  great  heat,  and 
blasphemed  the  name  of  God,  which  hath  power 
over  these  plagues  :  and  they  repented  not  to  give 
him  glory. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  remarks,  that  "  the  sun,  in  sacred 
prophecy,  is  put  for  the  race  of  kings  in  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world."  The  darkening  of  the  sun,  then,  means  em- 
barrassing the  concerns  of  kings,  or  first  rulers.  And  the 
sun's  scorching  the  interests  of  the  papal  hierarchy,  de- 
notes some  ruinous  effects  produced  upon  the  latter  by  the 
crowned  heads  of  the  old  papal  earth.  And  this  was 
indeed  fulfilled  at  that  period.  Kings  of  Europe  did  scorch 
the  papal  see. 

During  the  dark  ages,  the  papal  harlot  is  said  (Rev. 
xvii.  18)  to  have  "reigned  over  the  kings  of  the  earth." 
The  pope  was  at  the  head  of  all  coronations,  alliances, 
pacifications,  and  all  national  concerns.  He  gloried  that 
he  could  depose  kings  at  his  pleasure,  dispense  with  the 
obligations  of  treaties,  absolve  all  subjects  from  oaths  of 
allegiance  to  their  kings,  and  claimed  power  to  settle  or 
unhinge  the  capital  concerns  of  nations  at  his  nod.  The 
canonists  were  wont  to  assert  that  there  was  no  sove- 
reign power  (meaning  temporal  and  secular,  as  well  as 
ecclesiastical)  but  in  the  pope :  and  the  popes  maintained 
that  all  civil  authority  was  derived  from  them  alone.  Bo- 
niface VII.  wrote  to  Phihp  the  Fair  ;  "  We  will  have  thee 
to  know,  that  thou  art  subject  to  us  both  in  temporals  and 
in  spirituals."  Bishop  Newton  says,  "  the  pope  was  at 
the  head  of  the  state,  as  well  as  of  the  church  ;  the  king 


CHAPTER   XVI.  305 

of  kings,  as  well  as  bishop  of  bishops."  Pages  might 
here  be  added,  from  good  authority,  of  most  outrageous 
usurpations  of  the  popes  of  the  dark  ages, — glorying  and 
insulting  over  kings  ;  and  of  the  most  infamous  servilities 
of  kings,  bending  under  the  feet  of  the  pope,  kissing  his 
great  toe,  and  suffering  him  to  kick  off  their  crowns  at 
pleasure.  But  did  this  scandalous  servility  of  the  kings  of 
Europe  always  continue?  By  no  means.  All  the  Pro- 
testant kings  of  Europe  cast  off  the  papal  yoke,  for  them- 
selves and  their  subjects,  and  set  his  holiness  at  defiance. 
This  was  the  case  in  England,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Hol- 
land, and  with  many  of  the  princes  of  Germany,  and  other 
Protestant  places.  The  governments  there  stood  ready, 
with  all  their  powers,  to  defend  their  people  against  every 
thunderbolt  of  the  Vatican.  Even  in  France,  Henry  IV., 
by  his  edict  of  Nantz,  gave  by  royal  authority  free  tole- 
ration to  his  Protestant  subjects.  The  pope  now,  and  all 
the  creatures  of  his  order,  felt  a  fatal  scorching  upon  their 
cause  from  the  sun  of  the  Protestant  civil  authorities, — 
the  kings  of  which  realms  had  before  nurtured  their  pride 
and  arrogance.  Their  sun  of  royal  influence  scourged 
and  burned  up  much  of  the  insolence  of  the  papal  cause. 
Ill  states  and  nations  where  the  papal  religion  was  yet 
professed,  the  papal  see  lost  much  of  the  influence  of  the 
papal  authorities,  which  had  before  supported  its  supre- 
macy, and  the  dignity  of  its  clergy.  All  the  kings  of  Eu- 
rope gradually  lost  their  superstitious  veneration  for  the 
pope,  which  for  many  centuries  they  had  firmly  main- 
tained. Papal  kings  had  ever  trembled  at  the  thought  of 
any  rupture  with  the  pope :  even  when  his  perfidies  at 
times  compelled  them  to  war  against  him,  they  were  then 
greatly  reluctant  in  the  contest,  and  would  seize  the  first 
opportunity  to  make  peace,  if  it  were  even  to  their  detri- 
ment. But  after  the  events  of  the  first  vials,  these  super- 
stitions abated,  not  only  in  the  Protestant  powers  rejecting 
them  at  once,  but  in  the  papal  kings  themselves  being  dis- 
posed to  treat  his  holiness,  in  their  secular  concerns,  with 
much  indifference  and  neglect.  The  sun  of  the  courts  of 
Europe  became  too  hot  for  the  creatures  of  the  papal  order, 
which  had  been  fostered  in  the  dark,  it  shone  in  upon  them, 
and  dried  and  burned  them  up.  A  noted  historian  says, 
♦'  Even  since  the  Reformation,  the  popes  have  had  at 
times  great  weight  in  public  affairs,  chiefly  through  the 
Cc2 


306  LECTURE    XXV. 

weakness  and  bigotry  of  temporal  princes,  who  seem  now 
to  be  recovering  from  their  religious  delusion.  But  the 
papal  power  is  now  at  a  low  ebb  :  the  pope  himself  is 
treated  even  by  the  Roman  Catholic  princes,  with  very 
little  ceremony  more  than  is  due  to  him  as  a  bishop  of 
Rome,  and  possessed  of  a  temporal  principality.  This 
humiliation  (he  adds),  it  is  reasonble  to  beheve,  will  end 
in  a  total  separation  from  the  holy  see  of  all  its  foreign 
emoluments,  which  have  been  immense."  The  former 
revenues  of  the  pope  were  not  less  than  eight  millions  of 
dollars  annually.  But  this  vast  revenue  was  by  the  mys- 
tical sun  of  first  civil  authorities  scorched  and  annihilated. 
It  has,  under  this  fourth  vial,  totally  failed  in  Protestant 
nations,  and  had  mostly  failed  in  Catholic  nations,  even 
before  the  papal  kingdom  was  subverted  and  filled  with 
darkness  under  the  fifth  vial,  which  commenced  its  eflfusion 
in  the  French  revolution  in  1789.  The  papal  see,  before 
this,  was  reduced  to  a  great  degree  of  poverty  and  mean- 
ness, like  a  barren  piece  of  earth  under  the  vertical  beams 
of  the  sun,  which  is  dried  and  burned. 

One  striking  item  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  vial  we  have 
in  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  the  great  kingdoms  of 
Europe,  after  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
lUst  before  the  coiumeiicement  of  the  judgment  of  the  fifth 
vial.  See  the  code  of  this  wicked  body  of  men  in  the 
subjoined  note.* 

*  This  order  was  instituted  in  1540,  by  Loyola,  a  Spaniard,  soon 
after  the  Reformation,  as  a  mighty  effort  to  support  the  sinking 
cause.  The  imagination  of  Loyola,  aided  by  the  courts  of  darkness, 
and  sanctioned  by  the  pope,  invented  this  new  order ;  which  came 
under  a  monastic  vow  of  obedience,  to  undertake,  at  the  direction 
of  a  general  (to  the  common  members  unknown),  in  any  service  in 
behalf  of  the  papal  interest,  and  without  any  reward  from  the  papal 
see.  Loyola  was  their  first  general,  and  with  much  art  they  were 
taufht  to  obey  his  orders.  The  generals  who  succeeded  Loyola 
much  improved  his  first  scheme,  and  rendered  it  a  most  perfect  sys- 
tem of  extensive  and  hidden  influence,  which  was  designed  to  per- 
vade the  world.  One  of  their  objects  was  to  gain  a  decided  influ- 
ence in  the  courts  of  Europe,  to  regain  the  ground  which  the  papal 
see  had  lost.  Other  orders  of  monks  were  much  devoted  to  morti- 
fication and  to  seclusion  from  the  world;  but  it  was  not  so  with  the 
Jesuits.  They  were  designed  for  activity  in  all  things  which  might 
tend  to  the  support  of  popery.  They  studied  human  nature,  and 
the  dispositions  of  rulers.  They  flattered  the  great,  and  became 
prodigies  of  intrigue  and  of  enterprise.  In  less  than  half  a  century 
from  the  institution  of  the  Jesuits,  they  had  become  established  ia 


CHAPTER   XVI.  307 

For  about  two  centuries,  Europe  felt  the  effects  of  this 
order  of  men ;  but  not  having  known  the  deep  internal 
pohcy  of  that  system,  they  knew  not  to  what  to  impute  its 
amazing  successes :  for  the  policy  of  the  Jesuits  was  to 

every  Catholic  country,  and  their  numbers  became  vast,  and  made 
greater  and  greater  progress.   They  were  celebrated  by  the  friends, 
and  dreaded  by  the  enemies  of  the   Catholic  faith.     Their  govern- 
ment was  purely  monarchical,  consisting  of  a  general  chosen  for  life 
by  deputies  for  this  purpose  from  the  Jesuits  in  the  different  nations. 
The  power  of  this  general  was  supreme  and  independent,  who 
appointed   his  provincials,   rectors,    and   every   officer ;  whom  he 
employed  or  removed  at  pleasure.     The  revenues  and  funds  of  the 
order  he  held  in  his  hands,  and  he  improved  them  according  to  his 
will  to  promote  the  designs  of  the  order.     And  every  member  of 
this  vast  community  was  so  fully  under  his  management,  as  to  be 
passive  in  his  hands  as  clay  in  the  hands  of  the  potter  ; — being 
taught  to  be  incapable  of  resisting  their  general.  The  deep  subtlety 
of  this  system,  for  learning  the  dispositions  of  their  members  and  of 
mankind,  and  for  holding  the  perfect  control  of  their  order,  exceeds 
all  that  was  ever  before  known  among  men,  and  is  exceeded  only  by 
the  more  modern  system  first  called  illuminism,  which  appeared  to 
have  been  copied  from  it  with  improvements.     M.  de  Chalotais  in- 
forms, that  the  general  of  the  Jesuits  was  furnished  annually  with 
6584  registers  and  reports  from  38  provinces  in  the  various  kingdoms 
of  the  world,  where   in  his  day  they  were  found  to  be  established, 
besides  many  letters  from  spies.     In  these  communications,  all  the 
affairs  of  their  order,  and  of  the  nations  and  states  of  Christendom, 
were  ascertained.    AH  these  communications  were  done  in  cyphers, 
which  were  invented  for  the  purpose,  that  they  might  defy  detection. 
The  general  could  thus  behold  at  once  what  needed  to  be  done,  and 
who  were  the  most  fit  instruments  for  the  accomplishment,  and  his 
orders  were  accordingly  remitted   with  the  most  irresistible  effect. 
To  manage  the   education  of  youth  was  a  prime  object  with  the 
Jesuits,   who  aimed  at  the  control  of  all  religion  and  instruction. 
Their  missionaries  were  numerous  ;  and  they  preached  much,  were 
admired,    and   extensively  patronized.     They  obtained   the  chief 
direction  of  the  means  of  education  in  every  Catholic  country  ;  they 
were  the  confessors  of  kings,  and  the  spiritual  guides  of  almost  all 
people  of  rank.     They  possessed,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  con- 
fidence of  the  court  of  Rome,  being  the  most  able  and  zealous 
champions  of  its  authority,  and  propagators  of  its  dogmas.     Says  a 
historian,  "  They  possessed  the  direction  of  the  most  considerable 
courts  in  Europe  ;  they  took  part  in  every  intrigue  and  revolution," 
and  they  thus  managed  all  things  to  their  mind  with  amazing  effi- 
cacy.    They  formed  great  possessions  in  Catholic  countries,  and 
the  numbers  and  magnificence  of  their  public  buildings  were  vast. 
They  had  license  from  the  pope  to  trade  wherever  they  resided  ;  and 
they  were  engaged  in  lucrative  and  extensive  commerce,  both  in 
the  West   and   East  Indies.     They  had  warehouses  in  different 
regions   in  Europe ;  they  readily  obtained  settlements  ;  and  vied 
with  the  commercial  establishments  of  the  world.     Vast  fertile  pro^ 


308  LECTURE    XXV 

keep  their  system  hid  in  impenetrable  mystery.  They 
refused,  even  in  courts  of  justice,  to  expose  their  code ; 
and  long  were  they  connived  at,  in  this  particular. 

But  the  courts  of  papal  Europe  became  at  last  convinced 
of  what  they  had  been  too  long  backward  to  believe,  that 
the  Jesuits  were  (and  long  had  been)  a  most  dangerous, 
intriguing,  bloody  order  of  men  ; — guilty  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  monarchs,  and  statesmen,  v;ho  stood  in  their  way. 
This  awakened  and  combined  their  efforts  against  the 
Jesuits ;  and  they  banished  them  from  their  courts,  and 
their  realms.  In  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Naples,  and 
other  papal  lands,  they  were  proscribed  ;  their  schools  shut 
up ;  their  revenues  confiscated ;  and  they  banished  from 
those  kingdoms :  which  operated  as  a  deadly  stroke 
towards  the  ruins  of  the  papal  see.  Rev.  Dr.  Langdon, 
on  this  event,  says,  "  The  banishment  of  the  Jesuits  from 
all  the  (papal)  nations  of  Europe,  and  the  dissolution  of 
the  order,  as  guilty  of  treasons,  rebellions,  and  assassina- 
tions of  monarchs,  is  the  most  remarkable  event  of  Provi- 
dence." And  he  treats  it  as  a  masterly  stroke  on  the 
papal  see.  Rev.  Dr.  Trumbull,  in  his  sermon  on  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  says,  "  In  the  last  half  century, 
the  order  of  the  Jesuits,  who  constituted  the  most  deceit- 
ful, intriguing,  and  formidable  branch  of  the  Romish  hie- 

vinces  they  obtained  in  Paraguay,  in  South  America,  and  they 
reigned  there  over  hundreds  of  thousand  of  subjects.  Thus  vast 
was  the  influence  of  the  Jesuits  on  earth,  while  their  attachment  to 
the  papal  cause  was  inviolable.  Their  professions  of  religion  were 
such  as  to  steal  upon  the  confidence  of  the  Catholic  multitudes  ; 
while  yet  their  morality  was  pliant,  and  suited  to  the  feelings  of  all 
men  upon  whom  they  wished  to  gain  influence.  The  great  object 
of  this  order  was  to  restore  the  papal  prerogatives  of  the  dark  ages  ; 
and  to  heal  and  support  that  wounded  cause,  which  they  did  in, 
some  degree  effect.  They  claimed  it  as  their  right  and  business  to 
combat  the  Protestants,  and  they  laboured  to  excite  against  them 
all  the  rage  of  the  civil  as  well  as  the  Caiholic  powers.  They  were 
the  authors,  says  Dr.  Robertson,  of  '•  most  of  the  pernicious  effects 
arisinor  from  the  corrupt  and  dangerous  casuistry  of  the  times  ;  from 
the  extraordinary  tenets  concerning  ecclesiastical  power,  and  from 
the  intolerant  spirit  which  was  the  disgrace  of  the  church  of  Rome 
through  that  period,  and  which  brought  so  many  calamities  on 
civil  society."  Mosheim  says  of  the  Jesuits,  that  they  were  "  the 
very  soul  of  the  hierarchy ;  the  engines  of  the  state  ;  the  secret 
springs  of  the  motion  of  the  one,  and  of  the  other  ;  and  the  authors 
and  directors  of  every  great  and  important  event,  both  in  the  reli- 
gious and  in  the  political  world." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


309 


rarchy,  were  abolished.  They  made  rapid  and  astonish- 
ing progress,  through  all  the  Roman  Catholic  countries, 
till  they  were  suppressed  in  1773."  In  the  same  century, 
this  powerful  order  was  expelled  also  from  China,  where 
they  had  gained  great  footing ;  being  accused  of  things 
"the  most  grievous  and  disgraceful  to  the  Christian 
name."  We  have  thus  the  events  which  fulfilled  the 
fourth  vial.  Things  so  great,  and  so  fatal  to  popery,  as 
the  parts  which  the  civil  governments  of  Europe  thus 
acted,  in  throwing  off  their  veneration  for  the  papal  see, 
must  be  viewed  as  having  a  place  among  the  predictions 
of  the  steps  taken  by  divine  Providence  for  the  overthrow 
of  the  papal  apostasy. 

What  was  predicted  to  follow  the  judgment  of  this  vial, 
has  taken  full  effect,  and  it  adds  its  weight  of  testimony 
to  the  correctness  of  the  views  given ; — "  And  men  blas- 
phemed God  who  had  power  over  the  plagues ;  and  they 
repented  not  to  give  him  glory."  Most  clearly  did  this 
sign  of  the  times  follow  the  events  given  as  fulfilling  this 
vial.  The  blasphemous  system  of  Voltaire  was,  at  this 
very  time,  conceived  and  brought  into  effect.  And  so  far 
were  those  papal  regions  from  repenting,  that  they  en 
masse  went  off  to  the  most  open  and  finished  blasphemy. 
We  read  nothing  of  men  there  blaspheming  God,  under 
any  of  the  antecedent  vials  ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  fourth, 
they  pour  out  their  blasphemies ;  as  was  the  case  in  fact. 
The  crushed  egg  of  Jesuitism  now  broke  out  into  a  viper ; 
and  its  fruit  was  indeed  a  fiery  flying  serpent. 

Let  the  saints  ever  trust  in  the  Lord  for  deliverance 
from  all  their  foes, — of  gross  or  covert  infidelity ;  of 
Jesuitism ;  of  all  false  religion ;  and  of  every  species  of 
licentiousness.  These  have  combined  against  their  peace, 
and  for  their  ruin.  God  has  thus  far  confounded  them  ; 
and  he  will  finally  and  utterly  confound  them  :  but  not  till 
they  have  tried  the  people  of  God  ;  and  God  only  knows 
to  how  great  a  degree.  Jesuits  have  not  yet  done  all  they 
are  to  do.  That  horrid  system  of  infidelity  has  not  yet 
done  all  that  it  is  to  do  :  nor  have  the  systems  of  false 
religion,  and  of  licentiousness.  God  will  search  Jerusa- 
lem with  candles  ;  and  will  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but 
the  heavens,  the  church.  Be  strong  in  the  Lord  then,  and 
in  the  power  of  his  might. 


LECTURE    XXVI. 


REVELATION    XVI. 

Vial  V. 

Ver.  10.  And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
upon  the  seat  of  the  beast ;  and  his  kingdom  was  full 
of  darkness  ;  and  they  gnawed  their  tongues  for 
pain, 

11.  And  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven  because 
of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  and  repented  not  of 
their  deeds. 

The  last  capital  event  in  fulfilment  of  the  fourth  vial, — 
the  suppression  of  the  influence  of  the  Jesuits  in  old  papal 
lands,  took  place  1773.  The  event  of  the  fifth  vial  then, 
might  soon  be  expected  to  follow.  And  in  1789  an  event 
burst  upon  the  papal  world,  which  has  every  claim  to  being 
viewed  as  the  opening  of  it.  The  four  antecedent  vials 
had,  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half,  been  discharging 
their  contents  on  the  Man  of  Sin.  The  fifth  was  now  dis- 
charged on  his  seat  (throne),  and  filled  his  kingdom  with 
darkness.  This  was  commenced  in  the  bursting  forth  of 
that  system  of  infidelity,  which  was  forged  in  the  furnace 
of  papal  corruptions,  formed  by  Voltaire,  and  his  group  of 
infidel  philosophers  ;  which  system  gloried  in  setting  aside 
the  Bible,  and  the  God  of  the  Bible,— and  which  managed 
and  gloried  in  the  revolution  in  France,  and  for  25  years 
filled  Europe  with  blood  and  terror.  The  chronology  of 
that  event ;  its  accordance  with  the  figure  in  our  text ;  and 
its  accordance  with  the  synchronical  predictions  of  the 
same  event; — go  to  evince,  with  unusual  certainty,  that  it 
was  in  accomplishment  of  the  fifth  vial.  Most  fully  does 
it  agree  with  the  figure  of  this  vial ; — with  the  descent  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  Rev,  x. ;  with  his  descent  in  chap,  xviii., 
(both  of  which  give  the  same  event  in  different  general 
divisions  of  the  prophetic  part  of  the  book) ;  with  the  dra- 


CHAPTER   XVI.  311 

gon  casting  his  floods  from  his  mouth,  to  cause  the  church 
to  be  carried  away  ;  and  with  a  prediction  which  we  find 
in  Zeph.  iii.  of  the  same  event, — a  cutting  off  of  the  nations, 
which  was  to  take  place  just  antecedent  to,  and  distinct 
from  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  which  opens  the 
Millennium,  as  there  follows.  This  bursting  of  the  sys- 
tem of  atheism  upon  France  and  the  world,  at  that  time, 
opened  indeed  a  new  era  in  the  affairs  of  man,  as  the  little 
open  book  in  the  hands  of  the  Angel  of  the  covenant,  in 
Rev.  X.  testifies ;  and  as  the  description  of  the  same,  in 
Dan.  xi.  36,  to  the  end  ;  and  the  rising  of  the  beast  from 
the  bottomless.  Rev.  xvii.  testify. 

The  pope  had  ever  hoped  to  restore  and  heal  his 
wounded  system,  till  that  revolution  in  France :  but  his 
hopes  were  then  dashed  out  in  the  blackest  night.  "  And 
hiskingdomwasfull  of  darkness,"  says  our  text;  "and  they 
gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain."  Until  that  period,  the  pope 
Had  a  kingdom  ;  after  that  he  had  none.  His  dominions 
in  Italy  were  alienated  and  overturned.  His  authority  was 
annihilated;  and  the  Christian  religion, in  all  his  dominions, 
impiously  abolished  ;  the  person  of  the  pope  seized, — ex- 
iled from  his  royal  city ;  and  he  restricted  to  a  pension 
which  was  given  him  from  the  iron  hand  of  a  military  des- 
potism. What  could  amount,  if  this  did  not,  to  the  event 
in  our  text,  the  pouring  of  a  vial  of  wrath  on  his  throne, 
and  filling  his  kingdom  with  darkness  ?  Contemplate  his 
throne  in  past  times ;  and  compare  it  with  what  it  then 
became ;  and  you  cannot  have  a  rational  doubt  but  the 
event  of  this  vial  of  wrath  on  his  throne  was  then  fulfilled. 
How  very^  great  Avas  the  contrast  between  the  power  of 


*  To  aid  you  in  making  this  comparison,  glance  your  eye  over 
the  insolent  claims  of  the  pope,  in  the  dark  ages.  The  annals  of 
many  centuries  assure  us  of  the  more  than  royal  magnificence  claimed 
by  the  Man  of  Sin,  and  given  him  by  the  nations.  Take  the  follow- 
ing. In  the  ninth  century.  Pope  John  VIII.  denounced  excom- 
munication to  all  kings,  who  should  not  submit  to  his  power,  Leo 
IX.  declared  it  "  exceedingly  base  that  those  whom  God  had  set 
over  the  heavenly  empire,  should  be  subject  to  any  earthly  one." 
Gregory  VII.  excommunicated  Henry  IV.,  taking  from  him  the  im- 
perial crown  of  Germany  and  Italy,  and  giving  it  to  a  favourite. 
A  pope,  in  1080,  reasoned  before  a  council  in  Rome  thus,  "  He  that 
could  bind  and  loose  in  heaven,  can  on  earth  give  and  take  away 
kingdoms  and  empires,  and  whatever  mortals  have."  In  the  ex- 
communication of  an  emperor,  the  pope  said,  "  In  the  name  of  the 


313  LECTURE    XXVI. 

the  pope  in  past  ages  ;  and  his  state  after  the  French  revo- 
lution. Detailed  accounts  of  that  revolution  cannot  here 
be  given.  Some  sketches  of  it  have  been  given  in  Lecture 
xvi. ;  and  may  also  be  found  in  chap.  xvii.  giving  the 
beast  from  the  bottomless  pit.  The  tremendous  event,  to 
which  allusion  is  here  made,  must  have  been  one  of  the 
vials  of  the  last  plagues.  Of  this  there  is  so  great  a 
moral  certainty,  that  I  shall  take  it  as  granted.  Any  per- 
son who  would  dispute  it,  would  dispute  any  event  of  the 
Revelation,  or  of  prophecy :  and  with  such  a  character  I 
never  wish  to  contend.  The  question  then  is,  which  of 
the  vials  there  received  its  fulfilment  ?  Could  it  have  been 
the  first?  This  has  been  found  in  another  and  antecedent 
event ;  and  the  first  could  not  have  been  so  late  an  event 
among  the  steps  of  the  downfal  of  popery.  The  second 
too,  and  the  third,  and  fourth,  have  been  found  in  antece- 
dent events.  Could  it  have  been  the  sixth  1  This  is  mani- 
festly pouring  on  another  power,  and  is  bringing  down  the 
Turks.  Could  it  have  been  the  seventh  ?  This  is  to  be 
an  event  subsequent  to  the  restoration  of  the  Jews ;  and 
is  now  manifestly  future.  It  must  then  have  been  the  fifth. 
And  with  the  time  and  description  of  this,  it  most  clearly 
accords. 

One  more  argument  shall  be  adduced  to  evince  that  it 
is  the  fifth  vial.  This  is  found  in  the  analogies  between 
the  trumpets  and  the  vials,  though  they  belong  to  the  two 


Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  I  depose  thee  fi-om  imperial  and  royal 
administration."  And  his  form  of  excommunication  absolved  all 
Christian  subjects  of  the  emperor  from  every  oath  of  allegiance  to 
their  king.  Gregory  VII.  declared  that  he  was  the  "  rightful  sover- 
eign of  the  universe  ;  as  well  civil,  as  ecclesiastical."  The  popes 
claimed  the  right  of  conferring  the  imperial  crown.  Innocent,  in 
the  13th  century,  taught  that  the  difference  between  popes  and 
kings  was  like  that  between  the  sun  and  moon.  He  seated  on  their 
thrones  the  kings  of  Bohemia,  Bulgaria,  Wallachia,  and  Arragon,^in 
one  century.  He  crowned  the  emperor  Otho  IV.,  and  then  deposed 
him  to  make  way  for  Frederic  II.  In  Britain  the  same  papal  pre- 
rogative was  for  some  time  maintained.  Boniface  VIII.  declared 
himself  to  be  "king  of  kings,  monarch  of  monarchs,  and  sole  lord 
both  in  spiritual  and  in  temporal  things."  I  might  fill  pages  with 
Buch  claims  of  the  pope,  to  be  the  maker  and  unmaker  of  emperors 
and  kings  ! — claiming  to  be  styled,  "  our  lord  god  the  pope  !" — "  an- 
other god  upon  earth."  He  has  literally  kicked  the  crown  from  the 
king's  head  ;  and  treated  kings  with  the  greatest  contempt,  merely 
to  evince  his  vast  superiority  to  them. 


CHAPTER   XVI.  313 

different  great  divisions  of  this  book.  The  first  trumpet 
opens  a  new  series  of  judgments  on  the  Roman  "  earth  ;" 
and  upon  the  same  "  eartK''  is  discharged  the  last  vial. 
The  second  trumpet  affects  the  Roman  "  sea ;"  and  the 
second  vial  is  poured  upon  the  Roman  "  sea.''^  The  third 
trumpet  affects  the  "  rivers  and  fountains  of  water^''  and 
the  third  vial  is  poured  upon  the  "  rivers  and  fountains 
of  watery  The  fourth  trumpet  affects  the  "  sun''''  on  the 
Roman  earth  :  and  thus  does  the  fourth  vial.  Pass  for 
the  present  the  fifth  of  each  series.  The  sixth  trumpet 
affects  the  "  river  Euphrates,''^  and  the  sixth  vial  has  its 
commission  on  the  same  river.  And  the  seventh  trumpet 
and  vial  meet  in  the  same  event,  as  has  been  shown,  and 
will  further  appear.  Examine,  then,  the  fifth  trumpet  and 
vial,  and  see  whether  any  analogy  is  here  found,  viewing 
the  revolution  of  1789  as  the  opening  of  the  fifth  vial. 
The  imagery  of  the  fifth  trumpet  is  a  darkening  of  the 
world  with  the  smoke  of  Mohammedism.  And  the 
imagery  of  the  fifth  vial  is  a  darkening  of  the  papal  world 
with  a  calamity  no  less  fatal.  The  smoke  of  the  fifth 
trumpet  is  from  the  bottomless  pit :  and  the  darkness  of 
the  fifth  vial  is  the  atheism  of  the  blasphemous  beast  from 
the  bottomless  pit.  From  that  smoke  of  the  trumpet  came 
swarms  of  horrid  locusts,  who  had  a  king  or  leader,  Apol- 
lyon,  a  destroyer,  who  revolutionized  and  destroyed  many 
millions  of  the  human  family,  in  defiance  of  all  law  human 
or  divine.  And  those  locusts,  upon  entering  France  with 
an  army  of  400,000  men  (thus  exceeding  their  provi- 
dential commission),  were  met  by  Charles  Martel,  and 
driven  from  that  nation  with  the  loss  of  seven-eighths  of 
that  vast  army.  And  the  fifth  vial,  after  unlocking  the 
bottomless  pit,  and  letting  out  the  v/orld  of  darkening 
atheism,  and  blasphemy,  furnished  its  armies  to  spread 
its  terrors,  no  less  than  did  the  smoke  of  the  fifth  trumpet 
its  armies  of  locusts.  By  this  smoke  from  the  bottomless 
pit,  the  sun  of  civil  governments  on  the  papal  earth  was 
turned  to  darkness  indeed,  as  was  long  predicted,  Joel 
ii.  31.  And  the  civilized  world  was  darkened  with  this 
infernal  smoke  of  atheism.  The  fifih  trumpet  had  its  de- 
lusion propagated  with  fire  and  sword.  And  the  fifth  vial 
presented  no  less  terrible  armies  for  a  similar  purpose. 
And  the  latter  had  a  leader  who  was  likewise  a  destroyer. 
Napoleon  was  indeed  a  destroyer,  as  well  as  the  Apollyon 
Dd 


314  LECTURE    XXV. 

of  the  fifth  trumpet.  And  Napoleon,  overleaping  the  bounds 
of  his  providential  commission, — with  an  army  of  400,000 
men,  was  totally  defeated,  and  it  is  thought  at  least  seven- 
eighths  of  this  vast  army  perished  !  Thus  perfect  is  the 
analogy  also  between  the  fifth  trumpet  and  fifth  vial,  view- 
ing it  as  having  been  fulfilled  in  that  event ;  far  more  per- 
fect than  that  between  any  other  trumpet  and  its  corres- 
ponding vial,  if  we  except  the  seventh,  which  both  give  the 
same  event. 

That  tremendous  vial  commenced  in  1789;  and  for 
25  years  its  seven  thunders  roared  most  terrific,  and  its 
period  continued  till  the  defeat  of  Bonaparte  at  Waterloo, 
when  that  dynasty  sank,  and  its  vial  of  wrath  closed.  A 
first  and  most  signal  leader  of  the  beast  from  the  bottom- 
less pit  had  then  finished  his  work.  In  the  first  imperial 
reign  of  the  secular  Roman  beast,  the  beast  depended  on 
no  one  emperor.  Twenty  reigned  in  the  space  of  sixty 
years  ;  but  the  beast  was  the  same,  though  subject  to 
reverses,  till  befell,  under  the  reign  of  Constantine.  And 
this  system  of  infidelity  is  to  continue,  sometimes  in,  and 
sometimes  out  of  sight,  till  it  goes  into  perdition  in  the 
battle  of  the  great  day  under  the  seventh  vial,  as  will  be 
shown. 

The  papal  nations,  our  text  informs,  "gnawed  their 
tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  God  because  of  their 
pains,  and  repented  not  of  their  deeds."  This  wailing  and 
anguish  is  given  also  in  Rev.  xviii.,  which  describes  the 
same  event  with  the  fifth  vial.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  these  papal  wailings  ;  and  it  is  most  manifest  that  their 
calamities  led  them  not  to  repentance.  The  papal  multi- 
tudes seem  to  be  fully  insulated  from  this  blessing ;  given 
up  to  "  strong  delusion  to  believe  a  lie;"  and  all  their 
religion, — being  but  an  image  of  paganism, — issuing  in 
practical  and  real  infidelity  and  ruin  !  This  hint  of  the 
same  thing  is  strikingly  given  in  Zepli.  iii.  6,  7,  which 
please  to  read,  in  connexion  with  verses  8,  9.  We  have 
there  the  same  judgment,  and  attended  with  the  same 
impenitence. 

One  argument  more  from  analogy  shall  close  this  lec- 
ture. It  is  an  old  remark  of  writers,  that  the  imagery  of 
some,  at  least,  of  the  vials  is  borrowed  from  the  plagues 
of  ancient  Egypt.  That  the  last  vial  was  typified  by  the 
last  plague  on  Egypt,  is  evident  from  the  word  of  God,  in 


CHAPTER   XVI.  315 

that  the  song  of  praise  occasioned  by  the  last  vial,  is  called 
"  the  song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb  !"  The  last  plague 
but  one  (the  death  of  the  first-born),  set  the  chosen  tribes 
out,  at  once,  for  the  promised  land.  And  the  last  vial  but 
one  subverts  the  Turks,  and  prepares  the  way  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  same  ancient  people  of  God.  What  shall 
we  say,  then,  of  the  last  plague  and  vial  but  two  !  That 
plague  filled  the  realm  of  Egypt  with  darkness.  And  the 
last  vial  but  two  (the  fifth)  filled  the  kingdom  of  the  papal 
man  of  sin  with  darkness  :  so  the  vial  assures ;  and  so  the 
event  stated  as  the  fulfilment  of  it,  assures  us.  The  papal 
system  did  indeed  experience,  at  that  time,  what  may  be 
viewed  as  answering  well  to  the  gross  darkness  in  the 
realm  of  the  Egyptians. 

But  it  is  happy  to  reflect  that  the  tribes  of  Israel  had, 
in  all  their  dwelhngs,  light;  while  the  Egyptians  had 
darkness  which  might  be  felt.  And  the  true  Israel  of 
God,  during  the  horrors  of  the  French  revolution,  and  the 
judgments  which  followed,  had  indeed  the  light  of  salva- 
tion among  them  ;  light  to  see  clearly  the  abominations  of 
the  infidelity  in  which  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit 
gloried  ;  light  to  enjoy  their  gospel  ordinances ;  the  light 
of  the  showers  of  the  Spirit  of  Grace  ;  and  the  light  of  the 
flying  of  the  angel  of  missions  through  the  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  every 
nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people.  Yes,  and 
blessed  be  God,  they  had  the  light  of  the  cloud  of  the 
Divine  presence,  directing  and  illuming  their  way,  and  dis- 
tilling upon  them  the  gentle  rain  of  grace  ;  while  the  same 
cloud  of  Providence  flung  darkness  upon  the  enemy; 
thundering,  as  it  were,  with  hailstones,  and  coals  of  fire ; 
taking  off  their  chariot  wheels,  and  causing  them  to  drag 
heavily  ! — a  sure  earnest  that  the  sea  of  wrath  shall,  by- 
and-by,  return  upon  them,  and  plunge  them  in  inevitable 
perdition.  "  0  Israel,  trust  in  the  Lord  ;  he  is  thy  health 
and  thy  shield." 


LECTURE    XXVIl. 


REVELATION   XVI. 

Vial  VI. 

Ver.  12.  And  the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his  vial 
upon  the  great  river  Euphrates ;  and  the  water 
thereof  was  dried  up,  that  the  way  of  the  kings  of 
the  east  might  be  prepared. 

The  five  first  vials  have  been  given,  and  shown  to  have 
been  poured  upon  the  papal  beast.  The  sixth  vial,  it  is 
believed,  is  designed  to  subvert  the  power  of  the  Turks, 
the  last  and  great  supporter  of  Mohammedism.  The  rise 
of  their  power,  it  has  been  shown,  fulfilled  the  sixth  trum- 
pet :  and  its  overthrow,  it  is  believed,  will  be  the  great 
result  of  the  sixth  vial.  This  antichristian  power  must  be 
taken  out  of  the  way,  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Jews.  And  the  sixth  vial  will  thus  prove  a 
counterpart  to  the  sixth  trumpet,  bringing  down  the 
power  to  which  that  trumpet  gave  birth. 

A  river,  in  prophetic  language,  is  a  nation,  or  empire ; 
as  Isa.  xviii.  2  ;  "  Whose  land  the  rivers  (nations)  have 
spoiled."  The  rivers  affected  by  the  fourth  vial,  it  has 
been  shown,  were  nations.  And  the  drying  up  of  such 
rivers,  is  the  overthrow  of  such  nations.  Ezek.  xxx.  12  ; 
"  I  will  make  her  rivers  dry  :"  or,  I  will  subvert  Egypt, 
and  its  neighbouring  nations,  by  Nebuchadnezzar.  Psalm 
liv.  15  ;  "  Thou  driedst  up  mighty  rivers  :"  or,  didst  destroy 
mighty  nations.  The  drying  up  of  the  Euphrates  then 
must  have  its  chief  efiect  in  the  ruin  of  the  empire  of  the 
Porte; — whatever  synchronical  events  of  magnitude  in 
other  nations  may  attend  its  operation.  Should  other 
dynasties,  under  the  period  of  the  sixth  vial,  likewise  fail ; 
it  would  but  give  an  emphasis  to  the  language  of  the  sixth 
▼ial.  The  figure  in  the  text,  "  the  water  thereof  was  dried 
up,"  has  suggested  to  some  the  query  whether  this  failing 
of  the  dynasty  of  the  Porte  is  not  to  be  effected  in  a  gradual 


CHAPTER  XVI.  317 

succession  of  calamitous  events  ?     Reply  :  This  figure,  as 
found  ill  the  Bible,  has  generally,  at  least,  been  fulfilled  by- 
invading  armies.    See  Jer.  Ix.  36,  37  ;  and  Isa.  liv.  27, 28  ; 
vv^here  the  destruction  of  ancient  Babylon  was  predicted 
under  this  figure;  and  was  fulfilled  by  the  invading  army 
of  Cyrus.     It  is  true,  in  Dan.  viii.  25,  tiie  Mohammedaa 
horn  of  the  Macedonian  beast  (it  is  said)  "  shall  be  broken 
without  hands:"    which  seems  to  favour  the  idea  of  the 
failing  of  the  Turks, — the  last  supporter  of  Mohammed- 
ism,  by  wilting  away  in  a  gradual  course  of  calamities. 
This  may  prove  true  of  Mohammedism,  that  it  will  fall 
into  contempt,  and  die  a  kind  of  natural  death,  after  its 
great  supporter,  the  Turkish  empire,  shall  be  overturned 
by  violent  means.     As  that  scheme  of  delusion  has  lived 
only  by  fire  and  sword ;  so  when  these  means  fail,  it  will 
naturally  die.     But  whether  its  list  supporter,  the  Turks, 
will  come  down  without  violent  means,  is  the  question. 
To  make  this  vial  analogous  with  the  other  vials  of  wrath, 
it  would  seem  the  subversion  of  the  Turks  must  be  by 
violent  means.     God  has  ever  been  able  and  ready  to  pro- 
vide means  adequate  to  his  designs  of  vengeance.     But 
however  the  end  of  the  Turkish  dynasty  may  be  with  a 
flood  of  violent  means  in  divine  judgment ;  the  way  has  for 
a  time  been  preparing  for  the  overthrow  of  that  power  by 
a  variety  of  progressive  calamities.    A  i&w  shall  be  hinted. 
Constantinople,  their  capital,  was  eighteen  times  on  fire 
in  the  last  century,  which  consumed  120,000  buildings, 
and   destroyed  very   many  lives.      Add  to  this,  that  in 
1810,  in  one  fire,  8,000  buildings  were  destroyed; — and 
80,000  people  were  driven  from  their  homes.     The  sub- 
sequent ravages  of  fire  in  Pera  were  vast  and  terrible. 
In  1780,  Constantinople  was  ravaged  with  a  plague;  and 
in  the  year  following,  it  was  partly  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake.    Adrianople,  their  second  city,  was,  in  1752,  more 
than  half  destroyed  by  an  earthquake.     Two  years  after, 
Grand  Cairo  was,  by  an  earthquake,  two-thirds  shaken 
down,  and  40,000  of  its  inhabitants  buried  in  the  earth. 
In  1755,  the  city  of  Fez  was  by  the  like  judgment  half 
destroyed,  and  12,000  of  its  people  burned  alive.    Plagues 
and  earthquakes  have,  of  late,  ravaged  various  sections  of 
the  Turkish  empire.     The  recent  accounts  of  the  cholera, 
in  Constantinople,  in  Bagdat  (the  two  capitals),  and  in 
other  cities,  have  been  of  the  most  awful  kind,  as  may  be 
Dd2 


318  LECTURE    XXVII. 

well  remembered.  A  sect  arose  in  Arabia  about  the  time 
of  the  formation  of  the  Voltaire  system  of  infidelity, 
threatening  to  the  Turks,  as  was  Illuminism  to  the  papal 
see.  Abdul  Wahab  appeared,  denying  the  Mohammedan 
rehgion ;  and  collecting  a  powerful  army.  In  1804,  he 
had  100,000  men  in  arms,  who  ravaged  Mecca,  Medina, 
and  other  capital  places,  with  great  slaughter ;  seizing 
upon  the  treasures  of  the  tomb  of  Mohammed ;  and,  in 
short,  forming  a  revolution  in  the  government  of  Arabia, 
and  causing  the  Porte  himself  to  purchase  their  friendship. 
It  is  said  that  Constantinople  has  diminished  her  popula- 
tion 300,000  since  1812  ;  and  various  parts  of  the  empire 
have  wilted  away.  See  Hartley's  Researches  ;  in  which 
we  learn  that  many  noted  cities  in  these  regions  are  now 
no  more.  Ephesus,  Laodicea,  Colosse,  Antioch  in  Pisidia, 
Lystra,  Derbe,  cities  of  Lycaonia,  and  Perga,  are  gone 
with  the  years  beyond  the  flood.  There  has  been  indeed 
a  gradual,  and  (I  may  say)  rapid  drying  up  of  the  Eu- 
phratean  empire.  The  way  has  been  wonderfully  pre- 
paring for  its  utter  downfall.  But  the  sixth  vial  was 
probably  to  have  its  characteristic  effect  in  violent  attacks 
from  the  arms  of  hostile  nations.  This  opinion  I  was  led 
deliberately  to  form  many  years  since,  from  the  language 
of  prophecy  relative  to  drying  up  rivers,  and  ihe  analogy 
of  things.  Soon  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  I  expressed 
my  belief  that  the  sixth  vial  might  next  be  looked  for,  to 
open  upon  the  Turks  by  the  attacks  of  hostile  nations. 
When  the  insurrection  of  the  Greeks  appeared,  I  ventured 
to  express  my  belief  that  this  was  the  entering  wedge  of 
the  great  event;  as  it  has  proved  to  be  indeed.  The  wars 
and  successes  of  the  Greeks ;  the  subsequent  war  of  the 
emperor  of  the  north  ;  and  the  still  later  successful  attacks 
of  the  Pacha  of  Egypt ;  and  the  present  state  of  the  empire 
of  the  Porte,  are  now  well  known,  as  before  the  eye  of 
the  world.  And  we  have  here  the  manifest  fulfilment  of 
our  text ; — the  drying  of  the  river  Euphrates  ! 

The  object  of  this  vial  is  said  to  be,  "  that  the  way  of 
the  kings  of  the  east  may  be  prepared."  This  is  future, 
and  is  of  diflicuh  solution.  Mede,  Moor,  and  others, 
have  supposed  this  vial  will  soon  be  followed  by  the 
restoration  of  the  Jews  to  Palestine;  which  could  not 
have  taken  place,  while  the  Turks  were  in  possession  of 
it.     Granting  this ;  who  are  the  kings  of  the  east  ?     The 


CHAPTER  XVI.  319 

Jews  were  formerly  called  a  kingdom  of  priests.  And 
they  may  yet  be  pre-eminent  in  Ciirist's  gracious  kingdom 
of  "  kings  and  priests  unto  God."  But  does  this  entitle 
them  to  the  appellation  of  kings  of  the  east  1  It  may  ;  but 
it  seems  doubtful.  Can  it  mean  that  the  way  for  the  con- 
version of  the  eastern  nations  may  be  prepared  ?  But  the 
gathering  in  of  those  of  mankind  who  shall  be  left,  after 
the  battle  of  the  great  day,  is  to  be  an  event  after  the 
seventh^  and  not  the  sixth  vial. 

Some  have  conceived  that  the  phrase,  "  the  kings  of 
the  east,"  in  this  vial,  alludes  to  the  kingdoms  of  the  east 
which  composed  the  army  of  Cyrus,  when  he  destroyed 
ancient  Babylon ;  and  that  those  kings  of  the  east  were 
a  type  of  the  character,  in  the  text,  who,  on  this  account 
are  so  denominated.  The  event  will  decide  whether  this 
will  prove  correct.  If  it  should,  then  the  sense  must  be 
thus  :  The  Turks  must  be  put  down,  that  the  way  may 
thus  be  prepared  (by  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  and 
whatever  else  might  occur),  for  that  collection  of  the  na- 
tions, long  predicted  in  the  prophets,  which  shall  open  the 
event  of  the  destruction  of  Antichrist  (typified  by  ancient 
Babylon),  even  as  the  kings  of  the  east  destroyed  Babylon 
of  old.  The  kings  of  the  east,  in  the  text,  according  to 
this,  must  mean  the  armies  of  the  beast  from  the  bottom- 
less pit,  collected  against  Christ,  Rev.  xix.  19  ;  the  Gog 
and  his  bands,  Ezek.  xxxviii.  and  xxxix.,  the  last  effort 
of  the  horrid  system  of  infidelity.  Such  an  event  as 
this  is  in  fact  to  take  place,  at  the  battle  of  the  great 
day.  The  event  of  the  sixth  vial  opens  the  way  for 
the  combination  of  the  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs,  to 
go  forth  and  collect  all  the  wicked  world  against  Christ, 
for  the  battle  of  the  great  day;  as  we  find  following  our 
text.  And,  should  many  who  will  be  found  thus  active 
in  collecting,  and  being  collected,  upon  that  awful  occa- 
sion, be  known  as  kings^  and  grand  kings ;  and  as  great 
admirers  of  light  in  the  east  (as  the  ancient  kings  of  the 
east  were  worshippers  of  light) ;  this  may  aid  future  ex- 
positors of  our  text.  But  of  particulars  of  the  events  of 
this  mystical  phrase,  time  will  lead  to  the  best  solution.* 


*  See  prophetic  descriptions  of  the  infidels  in  the  last  days  in 
Ezek.  viii.  and  3  Pet.  ii.  and  iii. ;  Epistle  of  Jude ;  and  3  Tim.  iii. 
1-5. 


320  LECTURE    XXVII. 

Relative  to  the  time  of  the  subversion  of  the  Turks  ; — it 
mioht  be  expected  soon  after  the  close  of  the  fifth  vial  in 
the  battle  of  Waterloo.  If  the  year,  for  which  the  Turks 
are  said,  in  the  sixth  trumpet,  to  have  been  prepared,  is  a 
prophetic  year,  to  be  reckoned  from  the  time  of  their  em- 
pire being  established  in  Europe,  in  1453;  then  the  360 
years  added  to  this,  brings  it  to  the  year  1818,  for  the 
commencementof  that  fail.  In  Dan.  viii.  14,  we  have  the 
time  stated  for  the  cleansing  of  the  sanctuary,  which  is 
the  same  event.  This  time  is  said  to  be  2300  years. 
Reckoning  this  from  the  commencement  of  the  Macedonian 
empire  ;  which  is  said  to  be  481  years  before  Christ;  this 
brings  to  1819,  for  the  fall  (or  the  commencement  of  the 
fall)  of  the  Turks  :  within  one  year  of  the  other  reckoning; 
and,  we  may  say,  at  the  very  time  the  oppressed  Greeks 
were  commencing  their  attack  upon  the  Turks  ;  which 
either  has  issued,  or  will  issue,  in  the  fall  of  the  latter. 

The  signs  of  the  times  then,  from  the  state  of  the  Turks, 
are  of  the  deepest  interest.  They  testify  not  only  that  the 
Bible  is  indeed  the  sure  word  of  prophecy ;  and  that  all 
its  predictions  will  be  fulfilled  ;  but  that  we  have  every 
encouragement  to  study  the  prophecies  in  view  of  the  signs 
of  the  times. 

It  was  stated,  in  the  lecture  on  the  fifth  vial,  that  there 
is  a  manifest  analogy  between  some  of  the  last  plagues 
on  Egypt,  and  some  of  the  last  vials  ;  as  the  stroke  in  the 
Revelation  testifies,  where,  upon  the  last  vial  being  exe- 
cuted,  Christians  sing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb, 
Look  then  at  the  last  plague  but  one,  and  the  last  vial 
but  one  (or  the  sixth),  and  behold  the  following  like- 
ness. That  plague  cut  off  the  first-born  in  Egypt  in  the 
night.  And  it  is  worthy  of  note,  that  a  terrible  plague, 
the  cholera  (a  plague  which  has  more  generally  seized 
upon  its  prey  in  the  night),  has,  at  this  very  age  of  the 
world,  swept  over  the  Turkish  empire,  and  much  of  the 
earth.  Our  Lord,  predicting  the  signs  of  the  battle  of  the 
great  day  (which  must  be  at,  or  near  the  time  of  the  sixth 
vial),  says,  "  there  shall  be  great  earthquakes,  in  divers 
places,  and  famines,  and  pestilences^  and  fearful  sights, 
and  great  signs  shall  there  be  from  Heaven."  Have  not 
these  warnings  been  seen,  and  known  ?  And  what  has  cut 
off,  in  a  ^e\v  years,  at  least  one-sixteenth  part  of  the  hu- 
man family ;    and  utterly  desolated  some  cities  of  the 


CHAPTER   IVI.  321 

Turks  ?  The  cholera  is  indeed  a  sign  of  the  times,  under 
this  vial,  of  no  small  interest ;  and  it  more  than  hints  its 
amazing-  analogy  to  its  corresponding  plague  on  Egypt. 
And  should  it  prove  to  be  a  fact  also,  that  this  is  a 
period  of  very  great  terror  to  kings,  and  first  men  of  the 
earth ;  that  many  of  them  fall ;  and  others  tremble  for  their 
thrones,  and  even  existence ;  the  analogy  between  that 
plague  and  the  vial  may  be  yet  more  complete.  God 
says  of  the  period  just  before  the  battle  of  the  great  day, 
"  The  sun  (an  emblem  of  kings)  shall  be  turned  into 
darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and 
notable  day  of  the  Lord  come."  Joel  ii.  31.  As  Psalm 
Ixxvi.  12 ;  "He  shall  cut  off  the  spirit  of  princes ;  he  is 
terrible  to  the  kings  of  the  earth."  Isa.  xxiv.  21;"  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  in  that  day  (at  or  near  the  battle  of 
the  great  day),  that  the  Lord  will  punish  the  host  of  the 
high  ones,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth."  This  seems  the 
same  as  the  turning  of  the  "  sun  to  darkness,  before  the 
great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  shall  come."  When 
future  days  shall  give  these  things  in  history,  they  will  be 
plain.  And  they  may  be  found  to  bear  a  part  toward  the 
introduction  of  the  Millennium,  similar  to  that  which  the 
death  of  the  first-born  in  Egypt  bore  to  the  settling  of  the 
chosen  tribes  in  the  promised  land.  Christians,  rejoice  in 
your  humbler  walks  of  life ;  and  prepare  to  meet  the 
heavenly  Bridegroom,  coming  to  set  up  his  kingdom  on 
earth,  in  its  millennial  glory.  He  leaves  his  heaven,  and 
comes  down;  darkness  is  under  his  feet!  But  he  will 
shed  light  upon  your  path,  as  the  Light  of  Israel ;  the 
Saviour  thereof  in  time  of  trouble. 


LECTURE   XXVIII. 


REVELATION     XVI. 

Six  vials  have  come  under  consideration.  We  arrive 
novi^  to  an  interesting-  event  between  the  sixth  and  seventh 
vials,  preparatory  to  the  seventh,  and  followed  with  a 
solemn  warning  from  the  mouth  of  Christ. 

Ver.  13.  And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits  like 
frogs  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out 
of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of 
the  false  prophet. 

14.  For  they  are  the  spirits  of  devils,  working 
miracles,  which  go  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth, 
and  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather  them  to  the  battle 
of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty. 

At  this  period  arises  a  complicated  and  most  extensive 
combination,  slyly  moving  over  the  world  to  ripen  the  na- 
tions for  ruin,  to  collect  them  to  the  battle  just  before  the 
Millennium.  The  infernal  dragon,  on  every  new  defeat, 
ever  wakes  up  to  new  efforts.  And  we  find  in  our  text, 
one  of  the  last  efforts  of  the  devil,  and  one  the  most  ex- 
tensive and  interesting.  The  greatness  of  the  event  is 
fully  implied  in  the  following  things, — its  being  so  long 
predicted, — and  the  descriptions  occupying  so  consider- 
able a  space  allotted  to  the  description  of  the  vials, — its 
occasioning  such  warning  from,  the  mouth  of  Christ,  as 
follows  our  text,  and  shall  be  noticed, — the  greatness  of 
its  extent, — and  the  result  of  its  operations, — "  going  forth 
to  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  of  all  the  world,"  and  col- 
lecting them, — the  notable  things  ascribed  to  it, — "  work- 
ing miracles" — {Semeia^  signs,  wonders), — their  suc- 
cesses and  innovations  will  appear  like  miracles,— 
deceiving  and  leading  off  characters,  who  would  not  have 


CHAPTER   XVI,  323 

been  believed  to  be  capable  of  being  thus  led  off  to  sin 
and  ruin. — "  If  it  were  possible,  they  would  deceive  even 
the  very  elect."  Behold  the  vast  effects  ascribed  to  this 
diabolical  agency  !  "  For  they  are  spirits  of  devils  !" — 
"  Going  forth  unto  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  whole 
world,"  to  gather  them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of 
God  Almighty  ! — that  great  day  so  much  predicted  in  the 
prophetic  scriptures. 

The  first  of  these  combined  agents  comes  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  dragon.  This  is  the  devil,  as  Rev.  xii.  9. 
This  means  a  spirit  of  the  outbreaking  of  licentiousness 
and  wickedness  of  any  and  every  most  dreadful  kind,  just 
as  Satan  can  find  tools  on  which  to  work.  This  is  a  kind 
of  filling  up  of  all  or  any  species  of  wickedness,  from  the 
most  vulgar  to  people  of  better  style,  as  the  devil  can  find 
millions  who  will  unite  in  no  system;  but  have  a  sordid 
v/ickedness  of  their  own.  The  beast  (at  this  late  period, 
and  as  distinct  from  popery)  is  the  last  head  of  the  secular 
Roman  beast,  rising,  in  the  last  days,  from  the  bottomless 
pit,  to  go  into  perdition.  See  Rev.  xvii.  and  xix.  19.  It 
is  that  enormous  power  of  infidelity  which  is  predicted  to 
appear  on  earth  in  the  last  days,  with  a  head  healed  which 
had  been  w^ounded  to  death,  which  beast  arose  in  the 
Voltaire  system  of  infidelity  in  the  French  revolution  of 
1789.  And  the  false  prophet,  in  our  text,  is  the  papal 
system  after  it  ceases  to  be  a  reigning  power  as  it  has 
been,  "  reigning  over  the  kings  of  the  papal  earth ;"  or, 
when  it  was  taken  into  the  grasp  of  the  beast  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  as  a  mere  tool  of  his  policy.  The  papal 
hierarchy,  from  that  time,  ceased  to  be  a  beast,  or  reign- 
ing by  his  own  power,  and  the  name  of  false  prophet  is 
given  it.  Till  the  fifth  vial,  it  was  itself  a  beast.  But  this 
vial  has  been  poured  in  his  seat  {throiie)  and  overturned 
it.  This  hierarchy,  after  this  event,  drags  out  a  miserable 
existence,  till  it  sinks  in  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of 
God ;  but  it  is  never  more  a  beast,  or  an  independent 
power.* 

*  That  this  is  the  false  prophet  in  our  text  is  evident  from  the 
following  considerations. 

1.  What  is  said  of  the  hierarchy,  and  the  false  prophet,  shows 
that  they  are  one  and  the  same.  They  go  into  perdition  in  the 
same  connexion  with  the  secular  Roman  beast,  and  at  the  same 
time.     The  two  following  passages  decide  this.     In  Daniel  ix.  11, 


324  LECTURE  xxvni. 

This  false  prophet  sends  out  one  of  the  three  diabolical 
influences,  the  spirits  of  devils,  which  go  forth  into  the 
kings  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather  them 
to  the  battle.  This  will  be  popery,  where  papal  influence 
may  be  allowed  to  operate ;  and  where  it  cannot,  other 
systems  of  false  religion  may  amount  to  the  same  thing. 
These  three  kindred  spirits  are  "  unclean,''^  filthy^  licen- 
tious, "  having  eyes  full  of  adultery,  that  cannot  cease 
from  sin," — as  kindred  prophecies  assure  us.  They  are 
"Z^A;e  frogs,'^  sly,  out  of  sight,  slippery,  at  rest,  or 
leaping,  as  may  best  answer  their  purpose.  They  will 
creep  into  every  apartment,  as  it  was  said  of  the  frogs  in 
Egypt.  In  the  deplh  of  their  designs,  their  unity,  their 
incredible  perseverance,  and  the  depravity  of  the  human 

we  read,  "I  beheld,  then,  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great 
words  which  the  horn  (the  papal  horn),  spake  ;  I  beheld,  till  the 
beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning 
flame."  This  is  the  parent  text  of  the  following,  Rev.  xix.  20, 
*'And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him  the  false  prophet,  that 
wrought  miracles  before  him,  with  which  he  deceived  them  that 
had  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  that  worshipped  his  image  ;  these 
both  were  cast  alive  in  the  lake  of  fire  burning  with  brimstone." 
"We  have  here  manifestly  the  same  event,  at  the  same  time.  Th6 
two  powers  in  the  parent  text,  are  the  beost  and  his  horn.  The  two 
in  the  text  copied  from  it,  or  giving  the  same  event,  are  the  beast 
and  the  false  prophet.  The  false  prophet,  then,  is  popery  after  it 
ceases,  in  the  fifth  vial,  to  be  a  beast. 

2.  Mohammedism,  which  some  have  groundlessiy  conjectured  to 
be  this  false  prophet,  goes  into  perdition  under  the  sixth  vial,  as 
has  been  shown,  and  hence  cannot  be  the  false  prophet  in  our  text 
as  connected  with  the  secular  Roman  beast.  It  never  had  any 
connexion  with  the  beast ;  and  hence  is  not  here  to  be  associated 
with  it. 

3.  Popery  is,  in  fact,  the  nominal  form  of  godliness  of  the  seculai 
Roman  beast.  After  that  beast  arose  in  France,  and  subverted  the 
power  of  the  pope  ;  he  found  (after  the  bloody  experiment  of  several 
years),  that  a  professed  atheistical  power  cannot  exist  on  earth,  but 
will  destroy  itself.  Hence,  at  Notre  Dame,  the  infidel  emperor, 
with  his  posse,  in  a  very  formal  manner,  adopted  popery  as  his 
nominal  form  of  godliness,  and  thus  gave  birth  to  the  false  prophet 
in  our  text.  This  tool  of  popery  is  thenceforth  thus  denominated. 
It  is  officially  now  the  mere  creature  of  a  superior  master,  as  a 
woman  borne  upon  a  beast  to  her  execution,  Rev.  xvii.  8.  That 
le-establishment  of  popery,  at  Notre  Dame,  was  enough  to  give  it 
this  view  ;  however  the  millions  of  people  of  the  same  system  of 
infidelity,  in  other  lands  and  times,  should  be  disconnected  with 
popery,  and  should  have  their  own  congenial  forms  of  godliness  in 
theix  own  way. 


CHAPTER    XVI.  325 

heart,  will  all  unite  to  give  the  most  astonishing  force  and 
success  to  their  operations.  Every  incident,  every  local 
interest,  every  corrupt  or  interested  passion,  and  all  the 
power  of  sly  insinuation,  will  be  found  to  be  pressed  into 
their  service.  Licentiousness,  infidelity,  and  false  religion 
will  unite  their  influence  to  aid  the  same  cause  of  the 
devil,  however  the  d liferent  branches  and  agents  will  have 
their  own  subordinate  ends  in  view.  The  great  things 
ascribed  to  these  three  unclean  spirits  liiie  frogs,  do 
forcibly  suggest  that  they  are  moving  only  in  a  well 
known  track,  although  this  new  and  efficacious  method  is 
noted  as  going  forth  with  power,  after  the  sixth  vial.  They 
will  then  be  the  old,  and  not  the  young,  of  their  race, 
when  those  new  and  powerful  operations  are  ascribed  to 
them  !  Such  vast  and  subtle  systems  of  influence  do  not 
spring  at  once  into  existence,  but  are  usually  a  work  of 
time.  At  the  period  in  our  text,  their  agency  becomes 
more  efficient,  but  iheir  track  and  designs  will  not  then  be 
new.  It  will  be  a  last  effort  in  behalf  of  a  darling  cause. 
Dragonism,  infidelity,  and  false  religion,  will  now  be 
found,  each  making  its  last  eflibrt!  As  to  any  concert  be- 
tween them,  it  may  be  only  such  as  is  always  found  among 
the  enemies  of  God, — a  determinate  hostility  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  while  yet  they  are  the  subjects  of  ever  so  many 
minor  differences  among  themselves.  Much  is  yet  to  be 
done  by  this  vast  system  of  infidelity  noted  as  the  beast 
from  the  bottomless  pit.  When  the  code  of  the  Jesuits 
was  suppressed,  it  next  came  forward  in  a  new  dress  of 
open  infidelity,  with  great  improvements,  in  Illuminism. 
In  this,  it  introduced  the  judgment  of  the  fifth  vial,  as  has 
been  shown ;  when  the  earth  then  opened  her  mouth 
and  swallowed  up  its  floods, — as  upon  the  close  of  Bona- 
parte's dynasty  ;  it  has  still  continued  in  various  regions 
to  operate,  as  one  of  the  founders  long  since  boasted,  that 
let  it  go  to  ruin,  he  would  engage  to  restore^it  in  a  short 
time  to  a  more  perfect  state  than  before.  This  system, 
though  attended  with  severe  checks,  will  live  till  the  battle 
of  the  great  day  of  God,  and  will  then  stand  pre-eminent 
in  the  ranks  of  the  kingdom  of  Satan,  to  do  now  its  worst. 
In  the  fifih  vial,  its  judgments  were  so  terrific,  that  many- 
mistook  them  for  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God.  And 
after  the  judgments  of  the  sixth  vial,  the  system,  essen- 
tially the  same,  will  slide  forth  from  its  retreats,  with  im- 
Ee 


326  LECTURE    XXVllI. 

provements,  to  meet  the  ruling  passions  -.ind  circumstances 
of  the  day,  and  will  lead  on  the  events  of  that  long-pre- 
dicted battle.  The  terrors  of  these  preparatory  opera 
tions  may  be  learned  in  some  degree  from  other  prophe- 
cies of  the  same  period.  Here  may  be  the  bitter  contents 
of  the  little  book,  Rev.  x.  10,  11.  Here  the  trial  of  the 
patience  of  the  saints.  Rev.  xiii.  10,  and  xiv.  12,  13.  And 
here  may  be  the  most  serious  depression  of  the  witnesses, 
known  in  Rev.  xi.  7,  as  their  being  slain.  This  agency 
of  the  three  unclean  spirits  actually  gathers  the  nations  to 
the  battle  of  "  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty  ;"  that 
event  so  well  known  through  all  the  prophetic  scriptures, 
and  which  accomplishes  the  seventh  vial. 

in  the  midst  of  the  scene  of  gathering  the  nations,  our 
blessed  Lord  gives  the  following  nodce. 

Ver.  15.  Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed  ishe 
that  watcheth,  and  keepeth  his  garments,  lest  he  walk 
naked,  and  they  see  his  shame. 

This  is  as  though  Christ  should  say,  Now  is  near  at 
hand,  the  time  and  event,  to  which  my  warning,  "Behold, 
I  come  as  a  thief,"  had  a  more  special  allusion.  Now  is 
the  time,  when  my  people  on  earth  shall  need  to  watch; 
as  I  urgently  directed  them,  when  I  predicted  my  coming, 
as  it  related  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God.  This 
my  coming  is  at  the  door.  Watch  now,  and  henceforth, 
therefore,  and  keep  the  garments  of  your  souls,  lest  when 
I  come  ye  be  found  naked,  and  sink  in  endless  shame. 
Jesus  Christ  here  decides,  that  the  predictions  he  uttered, 
in  Matt,  xxiv.,  Luke  xxi.,  and  Mark  xiii.,  while  they  had 
a  primary  allusion  to  his  coming  in  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  (as  he  said  it  should  take  place  on  that  gen- 
eration) ;  had  a  more  signal  allusion  to  the  seventh  vial, 
or  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God,  to  introduce  the  Mil- 
lennium. Paul  decides  the  same  in  2  Thess.  ii.  The 
Thessalonians,  finding  that  Christ  predicted  this  coming 
of  his  to  take  place  on  the  Jews  of  that  generation  ;  and 
knowing  that  that  generation  was  then  drawing  to  a  close  ; 
were  terrified  with  the  thought,  that  this  coming  of  Christ, 
in  its  general  sense,  "as  a  snare  on  all  that  dwell  on  the 
face  of  the  whole  earth,  was  then  at  the  door."  We  have 
here,  as  well  as  in  our  text,  a  most  positive  decision,  that 


CHAPTER   XVI.  327 

this  predicted  coming  of  Christ  involved  both  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Jews,  as  type,  and  the  destruction  of  Antichrist 
as  antitype.  This  is  the  coming,  of  which  Christ  in  our 
text  gives  warning ; — "  Behold,  1  come  as  a  thief."  And 
he  blesses  those  who  keep  his  solemn  commands  to  watch. 
For  things  are  now  fast  ripening  into  that  tremendous 
event.  The  diabolical  agency,  noted  in  this  lecture,  will 
now  soon  be  found  accomplishing  its  work.  The  opera- 
tions are  already  more  than  commenced,  like  a  field  of 
frogs,  thickening  under  the  grass,  which  already  shakes 
with  their  numbers,  and  nestlings ;  and  is  corrupted  with 
their  slime  and  Jilth!  This  agency  will  fully  perform  its 
work ! 

Ver.  16.  And  he  gathered  them  together  into  a 
place  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  Armageddon. 

Armageddon  is  a  compound  word,  importing  the  moun- 
tain of  Megiddo.  This  was  a  city  of  Manasseh,  44  miles 
north  of  Jerusalem  ;  i-nd  was  the  noted  place  where  the 
army  of  Jabin  was  routed  by  the  few  men  of  Israel  under 
Deborah  and  Barak.  See  Judges  i.  27  and  v.  19.  It 
was  to  this  place,  that  Ahaziah  tied  from  Jehu,  and  there 
died  of  his  wounds.  In  this  place  also,  was  Josiah  slain 
by  Pharaoh  Necho,  king  of  Egypt.  It  was  hence  known 
as  a  place  of  slaughter  and  mourning;  as  noted  in  Zech. 
xii.  II.  This  "valley  of  Megiddo"  implies  a  mountain, 
or  hill,  there,  as  Armageddon  imports.  The  armies  for 
the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  C4od,  being  gathered  there, 
may  have  something  of  a  literal,  as  well  as  mystical  im- 
port. The  prophets  repeatedly  speak  of  a  literal  expedi- 
tion in  that  land  against  the  Jews,  as  having  returned 
thither.  See  Ezek.  xxxviii.  and  xxxix. ;  and  Zech.  xii. ; 
Joel  iii.  1,  and  onward.  But  whether  the  text  and  such 
predictions  will,  or  will  not  have  a  literal  fulfilment,  they 
will  have  an  awful  mystical  fulfilment  on  antichrislian 
nations,  who  will  be  cut  off  in  that  fatal  fall  of  Antichrist. 
These  nations  will  be  found  warring  against  Christ,  and 
prepared  for  destruction ;  which  it  is  abundantly  declared 
shall  then  be  accomplished.  A  preparation  for  this  de- 
struction is  their  gathering  at  Armageddon.  This  expres- 
sion implies  those  enormities  of  conduct  and  character, 
which,  in  the  predictions  of  this  period,  are  ascribed  to 


328  LECTURE    XXVIIt 

them.  In  Joel  iii.  9-12,  is  a  prophecy  of  the  sentiment 
in  our  text,  and  which  reflects  light  upon  it.  This  prophet 
had  said,  of  these  last  days,  "  Blow  ye  the  trumpet  in 
Zion  ;  sound  an  alarm  in  my  holy  mountain  ;  let  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  (earth)  tremble  ;  for  the  day  of  the 
Lord  cometh ;  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand."  The  prophet  then 
proceeds  to  describe  this  day  of  the  Lord.  "  For  behold 
in  those  days,  and  at  that  time,  when  I  shall  bring  again 
the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  I  will  also  gather  all 
nations,  and  will  bring  them  down  into  the  valley  of  Je- 
hoshaphat ;  and  will  plead  with  them  there  for  my  people, 
and  for  my  heritage  Israel,  whom  they  have  scattered 
among  the  nations."  This  bringing  them  to  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat,  is  phrased  in  allusion  to  another  ancient 
typical  scene  in  Palestine  ; — the  combined  attack  upon  the 
Jews  there,  in  2  Chron.  xx.  The  pious  king  Jehoshaphat, 
on  this  occasion,  betook  himself  to  God,  with  his  people, 
and  prayed  as  follows;  "Wilt  thou  not  judge  them?  for 
we  have  no  might  against  this  great  company  that  cometh 
against  us  ;  neither  know  we  what  to  do  ;  but  our  eyes  are 
upon  thee !"  God  undertook  for  them,  fought  their  bat- 
tle, and  destroyed  their  enemies ;  so  that  the  Jews  had 
nothing  to  do  but  to  gather  the  spoils,  and  bless  God. 
And  in  allusion  to  this  fact,  the  nations  collected  by  the 
three  unclean  spirits  are  said  to  be  gathered  to  the  valley 
of  Jehoshaphat ;  just  as  in  our  text  they  are  said  to  be 
gathered  to  the  mountain  of  Megiddo.  The  prophet  Joel 
proceeds  ;  "  Proclaim  ye  this  among  the  gentiles  ;  prepare 
war;  wake  up  the  mighty  men;  let  all  the  men  of  war 
draw  near  ;  let  tliem  come  up.  Beat  your  ploughshares 
into  swords,  and  your  pruning-hooks  into  spears  ;  let  the 
weak  say,  I  am  strong.  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come, 
all  ye  heathen,  and  gather  yourselves  together  round 
about ;  thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down, 
0  Lord."  This  is  the  same  gathering  for  the  battle,  with 
that  in  our  text.  And  the  same  event  with  the  seventh  vial 
follows  ; — "  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe  ; 
come, get  you  down  ;  for  the  press  is  full,  the  fats  overflow; 
for  their  wickedness  is  great.  Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the 
valley  of  decision;  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in  the  val- 
ley of  decision.  The  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  darkened, 
and  the  stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining.  The  Lord  also 
shall  roar  out  of  Zion,  and  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem ; 


CHAPTER    XVI.  329 

and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  shake :  but  the  Lord  shall 
be  the  hope  of  his  people,  and  the  strength  ofthe  children  of 
Israel."  This  isthebatlleof  that  greatdayof  God  Almighty, 
to  prepare  for  which,  the  spirits  of  devils  gather  their  legions 
to  Armageddon.  But  what  is  the  sense  of  the  mystical 
gathering  of  the  nations?  It  means  their  wicked  prepara- 
tion for  ruin :  being  found  as  though  in  battle  array 
against  God.  It  means  what  is  implied  in  the  following 
warnings  relative  to  that  day.  "  When  the  Son  of  man 
cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth."  "  For  ihe  har- 
vest ofthe  earth  is  fully  ripe."  "The  press  is  full, — the 
fats  overflow,  for  the  wickedness  thereof  is  great."  Hear 
the  following  inspired  strokes  :  "There  shall  be  mockers 
in  the  last  time,  who  shall  walk  after  their  own  ungodly 
lusts."  "And  Enoch  also,  the  seventh  from  Adam,  pro- 
phesied of  these,  saying.  Behold,  the  Lord  cometh,  with 
ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  to  execute  judgment."  That 
precious  fragment  of  primitive  revelation  is  thus  given 
anew,  to  assure  of  the  abomination  and  destruction  of 
infidels  of  these  last  days  !  "  These  fililiy  dreamers  de- 
file the  flesh,  despise  dominion,  and  speak  evil  of  digni- 
ties." "  What  they  know  naturally,  as  brute  beasts,  in 
those  things  they  corrupt  themselves."  "  They  have  gone 
in  the  way  of  Cain,  and  ran  greedily  after  the  error  of 
Balaam  for  reward,  and  perished  in  thegainsayingof  Core." 
"  Clouds  without  water,  carried  about  of  winds ;  trees 
without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the  roots." 
"  Raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own  shame  ; 
wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved  the  blackness  of 
darkness  for  ever."  "  Walking  after  their  own  lusts, 
speaking  great  swelling  words."  "  That  walk  after  the 
flesh,  in  the  lusts  of  uncleanness,  and  despise  government; 
presumptuous  are  they,  self-willed," — "natural  brute 
beasts,  made  to  be  taken  and  destroyed,  speaking  evil  of 
things  which  they  understand  not,  and  shall  utterly  perish 
in  their  own  corruptions."  "  Having  eyes  full  of  adultery, 
and  that  cannot  cease  from  sin  ;  beguiling  unstable  souls  ; 
a  heart  they  have  exercised  with  covetous  practices ; 
cursed  children !"  "  While  they  promise  liberty,  they 
themselves  are  the  servants  of  corruption."  These  are 
some  of  the  traits  of  character,  given  of  the  infidels  and 
licentious,  who  are  to  be  gathered,  as  in  battle  array, 
against  the  Heavens !  Already  do  they  appear.  The 
E  e2 


330  LECTURE    XXIX. 

world  is  filling  with  them ;  and  it  will  fill  more  and  more 
rapidly  under  Satanic  influence,  till  the  judgments  of  Hea- 
ven will  burst  upon  their  guilty  heads  ; — in  the  seventh 
vial.  Most  critical  and  dangerous  will  be  the  state  of  the 
rising  generation,  when  things  are  thus ! 


LECTURE   XXIX. 


REVELATION    XVI. 

Vial  VII. 

Ver.  17.  And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his 
vial  into  the  air ;  and  there  came  a  great  voice  out 
of  the  temple  of  heaven,  from  the  throne,  saying,  It 
is  done. 

18.  And  there  were  voices,  and  thunders,  and 
lightnings ;  and  there  was  a  great  earthquake,  such 
as  was  not  since  men  were  upon  the  earth,  so  mighty 
an  earthquake  and  so  great. 

19.  And  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three 
partis,  and  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell ;  and  great 
Babylon  came  in  remembrance  before  God,  to  give 
unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his 
wrath. 

20.  And  every  island  fled  away,  and  the  moun- 
tains were  not  found. 

21.  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out  of 
heaven,  everij  stone  about  the  weightof  a  talent:  and 
men  blasphemed  God  because  of  the  plague  of  the 
hail ;  for  the  plague  thereof  was  exceeding  great. 

This  is  an  assemblage  of  figures  the  most  terrific  ; 
more  than  all  that  is  found  in  the  antecedent  six  vials. 
This  is  "  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty  !" 
as  in  the  antecedent  context,  alluding  to  a  day  much 
known  in  the  prophets..    The  words,  in  the  Greek  ren- 


CHAPTER   XVI.  331 

dered  that^  are  more  emphatical  than  can  be  rendered  in 
English;  the  article  being  doubled,  and  the  demonstrative 
pronoun  inserted,  to  show  it  to  be  a  day  of  vast  note. 
The  other  vials  seem  to  have  been  local; — partial  judg- 
ments on  particular  places,  or  systems  :  but  this  is  general 
on  all  the  enemies  of  Christ :  to  denote  which,  it  is  said 
to  be  poured  into  the  air,  a  striking  figure  ; — poured  upon 
the  world  of  every  thing  antichristian  ;  upon  all  that  had 
been  collected  by  the  three  unclean  spirits.  Other  pro- 
phecies note  this  event  as  executed  first  on  Antichrist ; 
and  then  on  all  that  is  antichristian.  All  that  partake 
of  his  sins,  shall  receive  of  his  plagues.  The  beast  seems 
to  take  the  first  discharge  ;  and  then  all  that  have  the 
mark  of  the  beast.  As  in  Ezek.  xxxviii,  and  xxxix., 
the  battle  commences  upon  Gog  :  and  then  rolls  over  all 
his  hosts,  and  the  legions  combined  with  him,  in  the  dif- 
ferent nations.  A  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven, 
from  the  throne,  is  heard,  saying,  "  It  is  done  !"  or,  this 
is  the  last  scene  of  wrath  ;  as  in  another  passage  upon 
the  same  event,  "  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished." 
This  is,  then,  the  finishing  scene  of  judgment.  And  the  com- 
plication of  figures  by  which  is  given  this  finishing  scene 
of  wrath,  is  notable  indeed.  We  have  here  epitomes  of 
the  most  striking  figures  of  divine  wrath,  on  nations  that  are 
found  in  the  prophets.  "  Voices''''  commence  the  scene, 
like  those  given  by  lion-like  generals,  at  the  head  of 
their  armies,  when  just  entering  a  field  of  battle.  "The 
Lord  is  a  man  of  war  !"  "  The  Lord  shall  utter  his  voice 
before  his  army ;  for  his  camp  is  very  great ;"  says  the 
prophet  Joel,  when  describing  this  very  battle.  This  may 
be  the  parent  passage  of  the  clause  in  our  text,  which 
speaks  of  voices !  "  Thunderings,  lightnings"  follow,  most 
lit  emblem  of  unprecedented  wars.  And  the  greatest 
earthquake  ever  known,  an  emblem  of  by  far  the  most 
fearful  commotions  through  the  world  of  mankind  ever 
known.  "The  great  city,"  or  the  antichristian  world, 
is  fatally  divided  ;  and  God  remembers  to  fulfil  on  Baby- 
lon the  fierceness  of  his  wrath.  Islands,  and  mountains,  or 
the  less  and  greater  kingdom  of  the  world,  disappear  in  fatal 
revolutions,  and  destruction.  And  to  finish  the  whole,  a  hail 
falls.,  of  such  stones  each  of  114  pounds  weight,  as  to  de- 
stroy inevitably  every  one  on  whom  they  fall.  Our  Lord, 
upon  the  same  event,  says,  "  There  shall  be  great  tribula- 


332  LECTURE    XXVIIl. 

tion,  such  as  was  not  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to 
that  time ;  no,  nor  ever  shall  be."  This  assertion  of  Christ 
shows  its  event  must  be  the  same  with  that  in  our  text ; 
as  no  other  event  could  be  the  greatest.  Daniel  speaks 
of  it  thus  ;  "  Then  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never 
was  since  there  was  a  nation,  even  to  that  same  time." 
"And  (says  the  text,)  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three 
parts."  Tfie  great  empire  of  Antichrist  shall  be  thus 
divided.  This  empire  will  then  be  found  to  be  "  great ;" 
and  to  have  been  so  organized  as  to  constitute  it,  in  all 
its  parts,  a  city, — one  ejitire  system.  This  is  taught  also 
in  chap.  xi.  8  ;  when  noting  where  the  slain  witnesses  lie 
unburied ;  "  in  the  street  of  the  great  citi/^  of  the  noted 
system  of  the  infidelity  of  the  day,  called  the  beast  from 
the  bottomless  pit.  Parts  of  this  great  system  now  revolt. 
The  Jews  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (a  type  of  this 
very  event)  fatally  fell  into  three  great  divisions,  and  thus 
facilitated  their  own  ruin.  What  this  division  of  the  great 
antichristian  city  will  be,  time  will  best  decide.  The  un- 
clean spirits  that  collect  this  battle  array,  are  three.  And 
fatal  divisions  are  predicted  of  that  time.  Our  Lord  as- 
sures us,  "  there  shall  be  five  in  one  house  divided,  three 
against  two,  and  two  against  three."  Fathers  with  sons, 
and  sons  with  fathers  shall  contend  ;  and  even  mothers 
with  daughters.  It  is  said  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  21  ;  where 
this  fall  of  Antichrist  is  predicted  as  the  fall  of  Gog,  and 
his  bands;  "And  1  will  call  for  a  sword  against  him 
throughout  all  my  mountains,  saith  the  Lord  God;  every 
man's  sword  shall  be  against  his  brother."  Says  the  text, 
"And  the  cities  of  the  nations  fell."  The  divine  ven- 
geance, after  it  breaks  forth,  rolls  and  thunders  through 
the  antichristian  nations,  demolishes  their  capitals,  and 
lays  their  cities  in  ruins.  As  Ezek.  xxxix.  6,  after  the 
battle  is  noted  as  opening,  first  on  Gog  and  his  bands,  noted 
as  collected  in  Palestine  against  the  restored  Jews,  God 
says,  "  And  I  will  send  a  fire  on  Magog,  and  among  them 
that  dwell  carelessly  in  the  isles."  The  nations  of  Gog, 
dwelling  carelessly  at  their  homes,  shall  next  receive  the 
fatal  discharge  of  this  cup  of  wrath,  and  the  fire  of  God 
will  devour  them.  How  far  literal  f  re  will  have  an  agency 
in  this  falling  of  the  cities  of  the  nations,  the  event  only 
must  decide.  The  stroke,  in  Rev.  xiv.  18,  where  (upon 
the  same  period  and  event)  it  is  said,  "And  another  angel 


CHAPTER    XVI.  333 

came  out  of  the  altar  having  power  over  ^re,"  has  been 
supposed  to  indicate  that  the  element  of  fire  may,  with 
other  furious  elements,  be  let  loose  on  the  cities  and  na- 
tions given  up  to  ruin.  "  The^reof  thine  enemies  shall  de- 
vour them."  "  And  great  Babylon  came  in  remembrance 
before  God,  to  give  unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the 
fierceness  of  his  wrath."  Great  Babylon  here,  must  in- 
clude the  powers  combined  against  Christ,  in  this  conclud- 
ing scene.  Who  these  powers  are,  we  learn  in  other 
predictions  of  the  same  event,  as  Dan.  vii.  11  ;  "I  beheld 
then  because  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  spake  ; 
I  beheld  even  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  de- 
stroyed, and  given  to  the  burning  flame."  We  learn  here, 
that  the  beast,  the  secular  Roman  beast,  and  his  papal 
horn,  constitute  the  great  Babylon  to  be  destroyed.  In 
Rev.  xix.  19,  20,  we  find  the  same.  "  And  I  saw  the 
beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  their  armies  gathered 
together  to  make  war  against  him  that  sat  on  the  horse, 
and  against  his  army.  And  the  beast  was  taken,  and 
with  him  the  false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles  before 
him ;  these  both  were  cast  alive  into  the  lake  of  fire  burn- 
ing with  brimstone."  Here  is  the  great  Babylon,  and  her 
destruction,  in  the  text.  She  is  the  secular  Roman  beast 
and  popery  ;  together  with  all  the  adventitious  powers, 
kings,  or  kingdoms,  of  the  earth,  which  the  powers  of  in- 
fidelity, popery,  and  licentiousness  shall  be  found  to  have 
combined  against  Zion.  "And  every  island  fled  away, 
and  the  mountains  were  net  found."  Islands  and  moun- 
tains here  stand  for  less  and  greater  nations,  and  are 
found  no  more.  It  then  follows  ;  "  And  there  fell  upon 
men  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven,  every  stone  about  the 
weight  of  a  talent,"  or  114  pounds.  Hail  is  an  emblem 
of  divine  judgments  ;  and  hailstones  of  1 14  pounds  indi- 
cate that  the  judgments  here  will  be  as  much  more  terri- 
ble than  any  ever  known,  as  hailstones  of  114  pounds 
weight  exceed  any  hail  ever  before  known.  This  em- 
blem teaches  not  the  nature  of  those  judgments,  but  their 
greatness,  and  the  fatal  ruin  they  accomplish. 

These  judgments  will  sweep  away  the  horrid  system  of 
infidelity,  with  the  remains  of  popery  ;  all  systems  of  false 
religion,  and  of  licentiousness  ; — the  open  and  contending 
enemies  of  God  in  every  land.  The  many  predictions  of 
the  event  suggest  that  violent  exterminating  wars,  civil 


334  LECTURE    XXIX. 

dissensions,  pestilences,  and  probably  raging  elements  let 
loose  upon  man,  will  be  among  the  fatal  judgments  of  that 
day.  The  scenes  of  vengeance  will  be  seen  to  come  from 
tlie  hand  of  God.  It  is  the  battle  which  Christ  will  fight ; 
and  men  will  i^now  that  the  people  thus  destroyed  are  "the 
slain  of  the  Lord."  As  Jer.  xxv.  33,  "And  the  slain  of 
the  Lord  shall  be,  in  that  day,  from  one  end  of  the  earth, 
even  unto  the  other  end  of  the  earth."  This  is  the  scene, 
when  God  says,  "I  will  gather  the  nations,  and  assemble 
the  kingdoms,  to  pour  upon  them  mine  indignations,  even 
all  my  fierce  anger  ;  and  the  whole  earth  shall  be  devoured 
with  the  fire  of  my  jealousy."  "  The  light  of  Israel  shall 
be  for  a  fire,  and  his  Holy  One  for  a  flame  ;  and  they  shall 
burn  and  devour  his  thorns  in  one  day."  Of  these  thorns 
and  briers,  David  said,  when  predicting  the  Millennium, 
and  the  antecedent  ruin  of  Antichrist,  "  But  the  sons  of 
Belial  sliall  be  all  of  ihem  as  thorns  thrust  away,  because 
they  cannot  be  taken  with  hands ;  but  the  man  that  would 
touch  them  must  be  fenced  with  iron,  and  the  staflf  of  a 
spear;  and  they  shall  be  utterly  burned  with  fire  in  the 
same  place."  And  the  prophet  Malachi,  upon  the  same, 
says,  "  Behold,  the  day  cometh  which  shall  burn  as  an 
oven  ;  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that  do  wickedly 
shall  be  as  stubble ;  and  that  day  that  cometh  shall  burn 
them  up,  and  leave  them  neither  root  nor  branch.  But 
unto  you  that  fear  my  name  shall  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness arise,  with  healing  in  his  wings ;  and  ye  shall  tread 
down  the  wicked,  and  they  shall  be  as  ashes  under  the 
soles  of  your  feet."  The  prophet  Isaiah  says  of  this  day, 
"  Behold,  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh,  cruel  both  with 
wrath  and  fierce  anger,  to  lay  the  land  (earth)  desolate  ; 
and  he  shall  destroy  the  sinners  thereof  out  of  it."  "  Howl 
ye,  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  at  hand ;  it  shall  come  as 
destruction  from  the  Almighty.  Therefore  shall  all  hands 
be  faint,  and  every  man's  heart  shall  melt."  "The  earth  is 
utterly  broken  down  ;  the  earth  is  clean  dissolved."  "  For 
the  indignation  of  the  Lord  is  upon  all  nations  ;  and  his 
fury  upon  all  their  armies ;  he  shall  utterly  destroy  them. 
For  it  is  the  day  of  the  Lord's  vengeance  ;  and  the  year 
of  recompenses  for  the  controversy  of  Zion."  "Behold, 
the  Lord  will  come  with  fire,  and  with  chariots,  like  a 
whirlwind,  to  render  his  anger  with  fury,  and  his  rebukes 
with  flames  of  fire ;  for  by  fire  and  by  sword  will  the 


CHAPTER    XVI.  335 

Lord  plead  with  all  flesh."  In  Dan.  ii.  34,  35,  the  event 
is  given  thus ;  "Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone  was  cut  out 
without  hands,  and  smote  the  image  upon  the  feet  that 
were  of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake  them  in  pieces.  Then 
was  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass,  the  silver,  and  the  gold 
broken  to  pieces  together,  and  became  like  the  chaff  of 
the  summer  threshing-floor,  and  the  wind  carried  them 
away,  and  no  place  was  found  for  them  ;  and  the  stone 
that  smote  the  image  became  a  great  mountain,  and  filled 
the  whole  earth." 

The  time  of  this  vial,  we  learn  in  Dan.  xii.  will  be  at 
the  close  of  the  1260  years;  and  relative  to  this  period, 
see  Lecture  XVIII.  on  Rev.  xiii.  1 1,  to  end,  on  the  number 
of  the  beast.  It  probably  will  not  take  place  till  after  the 
close  of  the  19th  century.  The  event  of  this  vial,  it  has 
been  shown,  is  the  same  in  the  second  division  of  the 
Revelation,  with  the  seventh  trumpet  in  the  first.  It  is  the 
same  with  the  harvest  and  vintage  in  chap.  xiv. ;  and  the 
battle  with  Christ  in  chap.  xix.  It  is  a  great  event  in  pro- 
phecy ;  and  it  impresses  such  Bible  language  as  the  fol- 
lowing ;  "  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war ;  mighty  in  battle." 
"He  ruleth  by  his  power  for  ever;  let  not  the  rebellious 
exalt  themselves."  "Fear  ye  not  me?  saith  the  Lord; 
will  ye  not  tremble  at  my  presence  ?"  "  Who  would  set 
the  briers  and  thorns  against  me  in  battle  ?  I  would  go 
through  them,  I  would  burn  them  together."  God  came 
from  Teman ;  the  Holy  One  from  mount  Paran.  His 
glory  covered  the  heavens  ;  the  earth  was  full  of  his  praise. 
Before  him  went  the  pestilence ;  and  burning  coals  went 
forth  at  his  feet.  He  stood  and  measured  the  earth.  He 
beheld  and  drove  asunder  the  nations.  The  everlasting 
mountains  were  scattered.  I  saw  the  tents  of  Cushan  in 
affliction.  Thou  didst  ride  upon  thy  chariots  of  salvation. 
Thy  bow  was  quite  naked.  The  mountains  saw  thee,  and 
they  trembled.  The  deep  uttered  his  voice,  and  lifted  up 
his  hands  on  high."  "  Thou  wentest  forth  for  the  salva- 
tion of  thy  people."  "The  Lord  is  jealous;  the  Lord 
will  take  vengeance  on  his  adversaries."  "The  moun- 
tains quake  at  him ;  the  hills  melt ;  the  earth  is  burned  at 
his  presence !" 

Behold  then  the  madness  of  Antichrist  and  of  the  infi- 
dels of  the  last  days,  to  contemn  and  challenge  such  an 
antagonist !     May  Christians  come  out  from  among  them ; 


336  LECTURE    XXX. 

may  they  clearly  discern  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  well 
improve  them.  Of  this  period  the  Saviour  kindly  says, 
"  Ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wars.  There  shall 
be  signs  in  the  heavens,  and  in  the  earth ; — fearful  sights 
and  great  signs  shall  there  be  from  heaven — famines, 
earthquakes  and  pestilences — the  sea  and  the  waves  roar- 
ing, men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after 
those  things  that  shall  come ;  for  the  powers  of  the  hea- 
vens shall  be  shaken."  Warnings  like  these  should  not 
be  overlooked.  To  improve  them  is  of  solemn  interest; 
and  to  neglect  them  is  the  way  to  death. 


LECTURE  XXX. 


REVELATION  XVII. 

Ver.  1.  And  there  came  one  of  the  seven  angels 
which  had  the  seven  vials,  and  talked  with  me,  say- 
ing unto  me.  Come  hither ;  I  will  show  unto  thee 
the  judgment  of  the  great  whore  that  sitteth  upon 
many  waters  ; 

2.  With  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  com- 
mitted fornication,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
have  been  made  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornica- 
tion. 

A  further  view  is,  in  this  chapter,  given  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  papal  hierarchy,  and  of  the  beast  from  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  as  her  executioner.  One  of  the  angels  who 
had  poured  out  the  seven  vials  is  sent  to  exhibit  to  John 
the  judgment  of  popery  as  the  mother  of  harlots,  whom 
God  has  taken  in  hand  to  execute  upon  her  his  wrath. 
This  is  a  system  of  idolatry  ;  and  idolatry  is  noted  in  the 
word  of  God  as  spiritual  adultery.  This  is  one  reason  at 
least  why  that  hateful  system  of  false  religion  is  known  as 
the  mother  oi  harlots,  as  here  represented.     This  wretched 


CHAPTER   XVII.  337 

character  sits  on  many  waters  ;  or,  has  deluded  and  led 
to  ruin  many  people,  nations,  tongues,  and  multitudes,  by 
her  idolatries  under  the  Christian  name, — as  though  she 
had  intoxicated  them  with  her  philtered  wines  prepared  for 
the  vilest  purposes. 

Ver.  8.  So  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  into 
the  wilderness  :  and  I  saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  scar- 
let-coloured beast,  full  of  names  of  blasphemy,  having 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 

4.  And  the  woman  was  arrayed  in  purple  and 
scarlet  colour,  and  decked  with  gold  and  precious 
stones  and  pearls,  having  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand 
full  of  abominations  and  filthiness  of  her  fornication : 

The  papal  power  had  driven  the  true  church  of  Christ 
into  a  wilderness  state,  as  chap.  xii.  6.  And  John  now,  to 
find  this  wild  bewildering  system,  must  go  into  a  wilderness, 
where  she  in  her  turn  is  immured  ;  or,  she  is  in  trouble 
under  the  judgments  of  God.  "  I  will  show  thee  the  judg- 
ment of  the  great  whore."  I  will  present  her  to  you  as 
on  her  way  to  execution,  on  the  back  of  that  beast  whose 
horns  shall  soon  destroy  her, — shall  eat  her  flesh,  and 
burn  her  with  fire ;  for  strong  is  the  Lord  who  judgeth 
her.  She  is  here  reduced  from  her  predominance,  from 
being  herself  a  beast,  as  in  chap.  xiii.  1 1-18,  and  is  taken 
into  the  possession  of  another  beast  just  risen  from  the 
bottomless  ph,  and  she  is  carried  by  him  at  his  will.  This 
beast  is  of  imperial  scarlet  colour,  and  is  full  of  the  names 
of  blasphemy,  and  is,  by  his  seven  heads  and  ten  horns, 
identified  with  the  old  secular  Roman  beast.  This  harlot 
now  sits  upon  his  back  as  a  mere  tool  of  his  wicked 
policy,  while  she  is  at  the  same  time  on  her  way  to  exe- 
cution, which  this  beast  is  to  accomplish.  Her  gaudy 
array,  and  her  infatuating  enticements  are  here  given,  to 
indicate  what  she  has  been  in  her  prosperous  days,  even 
as  the  newly  risen  beast  is  said  to  be  of  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns,  to  show  that  he  is  the  old  pagan  beast  revived. 

Ver.  5.  And  upon  her  forehead  was  a  name  writ- 
ten,  MYSTERY,    BABYLON   THE    GREAT, 
Ff 


338  LECTURE  XXX. 

THE  MOTHER  OF  HARLOTS  AND  ABa 
MINATIONS  OF  THE  EARTH. 

6.  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of 
Jesus :  and  when  I  saw  her,  I  wondered  with  great 
admiration. 

We  have  here  her  true  character  as  revealed  and 
known ;  and  not  concealed  as  it  had  been  for  many  centu- 
ries, while  she  was  deemed  the  holy  mother  church !  Her 
mask  has  been  taken  off,  and  she  is  exhibited  to  the  na- 
tions as  Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great,  the  mother  of  harlots 
and  abominations  of  the  earth  /"  She  is  the  same  that  has 
been  for  many  ages  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
of  Jesus  !  Here  is  exhibited  her  desert  of  the  fatal  judg- 
ment, soon  to  be  executed  upon  her  by  the  horns  of  this 
beast  now  bearing  her.  Dr.  Lardner  and  Bishop  Pear- 
son have  shown,  relative  to  the  superscription  upon  her 
forehead,  that  it  was  a  custom  with  the  Romans  to  place 
on  the  foreheads  of  capital  criminals,  or  over  their  heads 
•when  executed,  a  label  of  their  character  and  crime.  The 
superscription  over  the  head  of  Christ,  when  he  was  cru- 
cified, was  upon  the  same  principle.  This  shows,  then, 
that  the  papal  harlot  was  here  presented  for  execution. 
"I  will  show  thee  the  judgment  of  the  whore!"  And 
soon,  below,  the  horns  of  this  beast  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn 
her  with  fire  !  Dreadful  to  her  was  the  event,  when  the 
beast  from  the  bottomless  pit  first  arose,  filled  her  kingdom 
with  darkness,  and  as  it  were,  flung  her  upon  his  back,  to 
convey  her  to  the  place  of  her  destruction.  This  beast  of 
infidelity  originated  in  her  fatal  corruptions,  and  was 
there  forged  as  a  rod  of  iron  to  dash  in  pieces  the  enemies 
of  God,  and  itself.  One  description  here  given  of  this 
mother  of  harlots  is,  that  she  '*  reigneth  over  the  kings 
of  the  earth  !"  Not  that  she  now  reigns  over  them  when 
mounted  on  this  beast  for  execution,  any  more  than  she 
reigned  over  them  when  John  wrote  the  passage.  This 
clause  must  be  construed  by  its  history.  She  reigned 
over  the  kings  of  the  Roman  earth  while  she  was  the 
papal  beast;  while  they  cheerfully  submitted  to  her  super- 
stitious sway ;  and  before  the  fifth  vial  was  discharged 
upon  her  throne  and  overturned  it.     It  is  a  thing  now 


CHAPTER    XVII.  369 

passed,  as  in  verse  2,  "  with  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth 
have  committed  fornication,"  or,  walked  in  her  idolatries, 
when  under  her  influence,  in  ages  past.  John  wonders 
at  this  sight  with  great  admiration. 

Ver.  7.  And  the  angel  said  unto  me,  Wherefore 
didst  thou  marvel  ?  I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery  of  the 
woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  carrieth  her,  which 
hath  the  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 

8.  The  beast  that  thou  sawest  was,  and  is  not ; 
and  shall  ascend  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go 
into  perdition :  and  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall 
wonder,  whose  names  were  not  written  in  the  book 
of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  when  they 
behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is. 

9.  And  here  is  the  mind  which  hath  wisdom.  The 
seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  on  which  the 
woman  sitteth. 

10.  And  there  are  seven  kings  :  five  are  fallen, 
and  one  is,  and  the  other  is  not  yet  come :  and  when 
he  Cometh  he  must  continue  a  short  space. 

11.  And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  even  he  is 
the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven,  and  goeth  into  perdi- 
tion. 

This  newly  raised  infidel  beast  "  was,  and  is  not."  He 
once  existed,  and  then  ceased  to  exist,  for  a  time.  The 
secular  Roman  beast  has  been  exhibited,  Rev.  xiii.  1-10, 
as  rising  from  the  sea,  and  continuing  till  the  revolution 
under  Constantine,  when  he  received  a  deadly  wound  in  his 
sixth  head,  and  died.  He  then  for  a  long  time, — and 
during  the  reign  of  the  papal  beast, — lay  dead,  and  had 
only  a  mystical  existence ;  that  in  the  last  days  he 
should  rise  again,  or  have  his  deadly  wounded  head 
healed.  An  infidel  power  should  arise  in  the  last  days 
on  the  Roman  earth,  which  in  prophetic  language  should 
be  recognised  as  the  same  pagan  power  risen  again  to 
life.  This  healed  head  of  the  old  pagan  beast  should  be 
also  denoted  as  a  new  beast  ascending  from  the  world 
below,  and  going  soon  into  perdition  in  the  battle  of  the 
great  day.  The  prophet  Daniel  gives  this  Roman  beast 
rising  from  the  sea,  Dan.  vii.  7,  as  he  is  given  in  Rev. 


340  LECTURE    XXX. 

xiii.  1.  Daniel  gives  also  the  papal  power  as  the  horn  of 
this  beast,  into  whose  hands  the  saints  are  delivered  for 
1260  years.  And  he  shows  that  this  secular  Roman 
beast  is  to  be  found  alive  in  these  last  days.  For,  of  the 
battle  of  the  great  day,  he  says,  Dan.  vii.  11 :  "I  beheld, 
then,  because  of  the  voice  of  the  great  words  which  the 
horn  spake,  I  beheld  till  the  beast  was  slain,  and  his  body 
destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame.  His  being 
here  thus  found  alive  in  the  last  days,  accounts  for  what 
is  said  of  him,  that  he  "  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is."  The 
same  idea  is  given  in  Dan.  ii.  33,  34,  where  the  feet  and 
toes  of  the  image  (meaning  the  same  Roman  power  with 
this  beast)  are  part  of  iron  and  part  of  clay  ;  partly  strong 
and  partly  broken.  It  might  be  broken  down,  and  retire 
from  sight,  and  yet  come  again  into  most  mischievous 
operation  ;  and  it  there  remains  in  existence,  till  the  stone 
(Christ)  shall  grind  it  to  powder,  in  the  battle  of  the  great 
day.  It  is  accordingly  said,  in  Rev.  xiii.  1,  that  the  secu- 
lar Roman  beast  there,  had  received  a  wound  in  his  head 
and  died,  and  afterward  this  deadly  wound  was  healed. 
This  healed  head  is  the  same  as  the  beast  from  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  in  our  text.  The  same  event  is  noted  by  the 
double  figure  of  a  head  healed  of  a  deadly  wound  ;  and  a 
new  beast,  which  yet  is  identified  with  the  old  secular 
pagan  beast,  as  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  The 
seven  heads  are  explained  as  being  "  seven  hills  on  which 
Rome  was  built,"  and  also  as  seven  distinct  forms  of  go- 
vernment. Ovid  says  of  ancient  Rome,  "  which  being 
the  seat  of  empire  and  of  the  gods,  looks  round  from  seven 
mountains  (hills)  upon  her  whole  city."  Our  text  adds, 
*'  And  there  are  seven  kings  ;  five  are  fallen  ;  and  one  is  ; 
and  the  other  is  not  yet  come."  The  sense  of  which  is 
this  (according  to  the  best  commentators),  there  have  been 
in  this  power  five  forms  of  government,  kings,  consuls, 
tribunes,  decemvirs,  and  dictators.  One  is  ;  or  its  pres- 
ent imperial  form  exists,  which  was  the  one  wounded 
to  death  by  Constantine,  about  A.  D.  320,  when  the  power 
of  paganism  was  put  down. 

Relative  to  the  one  that  had  not  yet  come  ;  the  seventh 
head,  or  form  of  government,  whicli,  when  it  should  come, 
"  should  continue  a  little  space :"  writers,  in  past  days 
have  been  perplexed.  And  no  wonder:  for  it  was  then 
future,  and  was  one  of  those  things  in  prophecy  which 


CHAPTER   XVII.  341 

can  never  be  known  till  fulfilled.  There  was  no  data 
from  which  even  to  conjecture  what  form  that  seventh 
head  of  government  might  assume,  till  the  event  should 
inform.  Nothing  that  took  place  under  popery  could 
amount  to  it,  or  to  the  resurrection  of  the  beast  slain  by 
Constantine. 

Whatever  of  real  idolatry  or  impious  wickedness  arose 
under  popery,  it  could  be  nothing  more  than  the  image  of 
this  pagan  beast,  in  the  power  of  the  papal  beast.  This 
was  furnished  indeed.  (See  Lecture  XVIII.  on  the  papal 
beast,  chap.  xiii.  11,  to  end.)  But  the  secular  beast  died 
in  his  avowed  nature  of  open  hostility  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  And  nothing  short  of  a  power  of  avowed  hostility 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  could  lay  any  claim  to  be  viewed 
as  the  old  beast  revived.  As  in  this  character  he  died, 
so  in  this  character  he  was  again  to  rise,  and  has  risen. 
This  rising  of  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit,  it  is  be- 
lieved, has  taken  place  in  these  last  days  of  wonder,  in  a 
conspicuous  part  of  the  Roman  earth,  in  France,  in  the 
well-known  revolution  of  1789,  in  the  bursting  out  of  a 
system  of  gross  infidelity,  which  shocked  and  terrified  the 
world  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  seventh  head^  an 
atheistical  republican  head, — calling  itself  "  The  Terrible 
Republic,^^  did  indeed  rise  on  principles  of  as  gross  pro- 
fessed hostility  to  Christ  and  his  cause  as  ever  was  the 
old  Roman  paganism.  It  undertook  to  propagate  through 
the  world  a  scheme  of  gross  atheism.  And  this  se- 
venth head  of  pagan  Rome  continued  the  "  short  space** 
of  several  years,  which  was  a  longer  time  than  some  of 
the  former  heads  of  the  Roman  beast  continued,  and  was 
by  far  more  notable  and  terrible  than  they  ! 

The  seventh  head,  "  the  terrible  republic,"  then  gave 
way  to  the  eighth  head ;  which  more  fully  answered  to 
the  beast  in  our  text.  "  The  terrible  republic"  was  soon 
formed  into  an  empire,  a  military  despotism,  under  a 
chieftain,  raised  up  for  the  purpose,  to  be  a  leader  of  a 
terrible  empire,  on  the  old  Roman  earth.  Here  was  the 
old  pagan  empire  raised  to  life  again,  in  the  language  of 
prophecy ;  the  deadly  wounded  head  was  indeed  healed. 
Says  the  text,  "  The  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  even  he 
is  the  eighth,  and  is  of  the  seven,  and  goeth  into  perdition." 
He  is  the  eighth  head  numerically ;  or,  in  reckoning  for- 
ward, being  the  next  after  the  seventh.  The  ancient  im- 
Ff2 


342  LECTURE    XXX. 

perial  head  was  the  sixth.  The  atheistical  republic  was 
the  seventh  ;  and  the  subsequent  imperial  was  the  eighth. 
But  this  Eoman  beast  was  a  beast  '•'■  of  seven  heads;"" 
and  not  eight.  He  was  to  have  but  seven  heads  of  spe- 
cific difference.  The  eighth  then  must  be  "of  the  seven;" 
or  must  be  viewed  as  one  of  them  risen  again  to  life,  in 
the  language  of  prophecy.  With  which  of  the  seven  then, 
must  it  be  viewed  as  uniting?  Certainly  with  the  one  of 
the  same  denomination,  the  imperial ;  the  one  under  the 
government  of  emperors.  This  was  the  head  that  received 
the  deadly  wound  in  the  revolution  under  Conslantine. 
This  then  was  the  one  to  be  healed,  and  raised  again  to 
life  ;  and  to  form,  at  the  same  time,  the  new  beast  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  just  before  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  He 
died  while  in  direct  hostility  to  Christ,  and  was  to  be 
raised  again  in  direct  hostility  to  Christ,  as  was  in  fact 
the  case,  and  which  shall  be  more  clearly  shown.  This 
direct  open  hostility  is  essential  to  fix  his  character  as  the 
secular  Roman  beast.  If  he  did,  some  time  after  he  rose 
(from  views  merely  secular),  exchange  this  his  avowed 
hostility  for  a  papal  form  of  godliness  (after  finding  that 
people  cannot  be  governed  even  by  the  point  of  the  bayo- 
net without  some  kind  of  religious  fear)  ;  this  forms  no 
objection  to  his  character,  as  the  Roman  beast,  which  he 
first  most  fully  assumed.  He  is  still,  with  all  his  nominal 
'■''form  of  godliness,^''  the  secular  Roman  beast. 

It  may  be  clearly  shown  that  such  a  power  as  is  here 
noted  was  to  arise  in  the  last  days.  In  Dan.  vii.  11,  we 
find  the  secular  Roman  beast,  as  distinct  from  popery,  is 
alive  in  all  his  glory  and  terror,  and  is  predominant  over 
the  papal  horn,  when  both  are  attacked  for  their  destruction 
in  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  "I  beheld  then,  because  of  the 
voice  of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  spake,  I  beheld  till 
the  least  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to 
the  burning  flame."  This  clearly  implies  the  resuscitating 
of  this  beast  in  the  last  days,  after  he  had  long  lain  dead 
during  the  reign  of  the  papal  beast.  The  same  is  fully 
evident  in  Rev.  xix.  20,  where  we  find  this  secular  Roman 
beast  leading  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  whole  world, 
to  the  battle  there  againstChrist,  just  before  the  Millennium. 
But  this  same  beast  had  lain  dead  from  the  days  of  Coji-^ 


CHAPTER    XVII.  343 

stantine,  only  as  he  lived  in  his  image  formed  and  sustained 
by  popery  ;  and  also  in  the  mystical  fact^  that  he  was  to 
rise  again  in  the  last  days,  which  has  been  fulfilled.  This 
his  resuscitation  is  implied  in  Rev.  xvi.  13,  where  we  find 
this  same  beast,  after  the  sixth  vial  in  the  subversion  of  the 
Turks,  actually  existing  as  distinct  from  popery,  and  placed 
before  it,  in  the  account  of  the  three  unclean  spirits  like 
frogs  which  collect  the  world  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day 
of  God.  It  is  here  implied,  that  after  he  had  so  long  lain 
dead,  he  must  recently  have  risen  from  that  death,  and 
been  exhibited  as  the  same  beast, — as  is  found  in  our  text, 
where  he  ascendeth  from  the  bottomless  pit,  and  goeth 
into  perdition.  Such  a  leading  despotism  is  implied,  too, 
in  ancient  prophecies  of  these  last  days.  See  Psalm  ii.  9, 
when  Christ  comes  to  take  the  heathen  for  his  inheritance, 
and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possessions, 
and  finds  it  necessary  first  to  dash  in  pieces  his  anti- 
christian  enemies,  he  does  this  with  his  "  rod  of  iron.'''' 
Such  an  iron  rod  was  then  to  be  furnished  to  his  hand, 
— a  bloody  power  subsequent  to  popery, — a  military  des- 
potism, different  from  a  corrupt  effeminate  harlot !  The 
same  thing  is  implied  in  the  many  ancient  predictions  of 
the  events  of  the  same  period,  as  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  a  Gog 
must  be  furnished,  to  collect  and  lead  the  different  quar- 
ters of  the  world  against  the  chosen  people  of  God.  When 
God  says  (Zeph.  iii.  8),  "  I  will  gather  the  nations,  and 
assemble  the  kingdoms,  to  pour  upon  them  mine  indigna- 
tion, even  all  my  fierce  anger,  and  the  whole  earth  shall 
be  devoured  with  the  fire  of  my  jealousy  ;  and  then  will  I 
turn  to  the  people  (the  few  left)  a  pure  language,  that  all 
may  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  serve  him  with 
one  consent,"  it  implies  an  efficient  power,  to  form  and 
lead  this  vast  collection.  God  works  by  means  ;  and  such 
an  instrument  is  fully  implied  in  this,  and  in  the  many 
other  prophecies  of  the  same  great  event.  In  Daniel,  and 
the  Revelation,  we  find  expressly  who  this  efficient  instru- 
ment is ;  he  is  a  power  called  the  Roman  beast,  distinct 
from  and  superior  to  popery,  which  is  but  a  nominal  form 
of  godliness  of  a  most  corrupt  kind.  It  is  the  imperial  head 
of  the  old  pagan  Roman  beast,  healed  by  the  dragon  of 
his  deadly  wound,  with  the  world  wondering  after  him. 
The  rise  of  this  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit,  it  is  be- 


344  LECTURE    XXX. 

lieved,  fulfilled  the  casting  of  the  floods  from  the  mouth  of 
the  old  serpent,  Rev.  xii.  15,  to  sweep  from  the  earth  the 
church  of  Christ.* 


*  Let  the  reader  please  to  compare  Rev.  xiii.  3-8 ;  verse  8  of 
our  context ;  Rev.  xix.  19;  Dan.  vii.  11  ;  and  xi.  36-40 ;  as  given 
in  Lecture  XL  Then  read  the  following  note  as  a  history  of  the 
origin  of  their  fulfilment. 

Voltaire,  a  noted  French  philosopher  (born  in  the  year  1694, 
and  who  died  a  little  before  the  French  Revolution  of  1789),  formed, 
in  his  early  youth,  a  design  to  destroy  the  Christian  religion.  One 
man  may  set  a  fire,  which  a  thousand  cannot  extinguish.  "  Behold, 
how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth  !"  He  most  solemnly  vowed 
to  devote  his  life  to  this  object.  He  would  say,  "  I  am  weary  of 
hearing  people  repeat,  that  twelve  men  were  sufficient  to  establish 
Christianity.  I  will  prove  that  one  may  suffice  to  overthrow  it." 
And  such  were  his  genius  and  early  turn  of  mind  for  this  work, 
that  he  received  from  a  tutor  this  hint ;  "  Unfortunate  young  man  ! 
you  will  one  day  come  to  be  the  standard-bearer  of  infidelity."  This 
was  indeed  fulfilled.  "  Christianity  (he  said)  yields  nothing  but 
poisonous  weeds."  And  he  engaged  to  destroy  it ;  and  associated 
with  himself  a  band  of  infidel  philosophers  ;  such  as  Diderot, 
D'Alembert,  Rousseau,  and  Frederic  of  Prussia,  for  this  purpose. 
And  soon  he  found  means  to  unite  in  the  same  cause  six  crowned 
heads  in  Europe.  The  number  and  influence  of  this  impious  con- 
spiracy rapidly  increased,  and  their  success  was  astonishing  even  to 
themselves  ;  so  that  they  would  exult  among  themselves  at  the  amaz» 
ing  power  of  secret  societies,  and  the  ease  with  which  the  world  may 
be  hound  by  invisible  hands.  It  was  a  noted  watchword  of  their 
order,  speaking  of  Christ,  "  Cnish  the  wretch.''''  Closing  a  letter 
thus,  "(!!rush  the  wretch,  then ;  crush  the  wretch!"  This  code, 
(having  the  old  and  powerful  code  of  the  Jesuits  upon  which  to  im* 
prove)  was  deep,  powerful,  cautious,  provident,  subtle,  and  exten- 
sive ;  as  has  been  shown  from  the  best  of  documents,  in  Payon's 
Modern  Antichrist,  Robinson,  and  Barruel.  And  this  system  took 
effect,  in  old  corrupt  papal  countries,  like  fire  in  a  field  of  the  most 
combustible  matter.  The  mummery  of  popery  had  prepared  the 
millions  of  the  papal  delusions  to  fall  at  once  before  a  subtle  system  of 
infidelity.  Voltaire  boasted  that  "from  Geneva  to  Berne,  not  a  Chris- 
tian was  to  be  found  ;  and  that  if  things  went  at  this  rate,  in  twenty 
years  God  would  he  in  a  pretty  plight''^  (to  use  his  own  words).  Se- 
crecy was  the  soul  of  their  order.  And  their  plans  were  prosecuted  with 
incredible  vigour  in  halls  hidden  from  the  world,  and  under  cover  of 
Masonry,  whose  lodges  they  drew  into  their  order.  One  of  their 
noted  watchwords  was,  "  Strike  deep,  but  hide  the  hand  that  gives 
the  blow."  Another ;  •'  The  world  must  be  bound  by  invisible 
hands."  Their  leaders  received  fictitious  names  :  and  their  official 
business  was  transacted  in  figures  invented  for  the  purpose.  They 
succeeded  to  poison  the  fountains  of  education.  The  highest  literary 
sQcieties  they  filled  with  their  members,and  rendered  them  subservient 


CHAPTER   XVII.  345 

to  their  views.  And  although  the  ruin  of  Christianity  was  at  first  the 
express  object  of  the  order,  the  subversion  of  civil  government 
came  to  be  united  with  it.  And  it  became  a  principle  of  their 
scheme,  that  all  restraint  upon  the  inclinations  of  man  is  but  an 
insupportable  usurpation :  that  the  goodness  of  the  end  justifies 
the  means,  of  whatever  kind,  to  destroy  all  such  usurpations. 
'*  Bundles  of  lies"  (to  use  their  own  words),  were  the  means  on 
which  they  placed  their  chief  reliance.  And  many  thousands  be- 
came leagued  with  them  in  hidden  concert,  to  reform  and  save  the 
world  by  the  doctrine  of  "  Liberty  and  Equality."  Meaning  liberty 
from  all  the  restraints  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  governments  of  the 
world.  Their  highest  secret  was,  that  there  is  no  God,  no  future 
state;  That  death  is  an  eternal  sleep.  And  all  restraint  on  the  feel' 
ings  of  man,  is  an  abridgment  of  his  rights.''''  These  sentiments  it 
was  the  business  of  their  leaders  and  adepts  to  instil  into  the  minds 
of  people,  especially  of  youth  ;  but  to  do  it  with  the  utmost  caution, 
not  to  overact,  nor  to  be  betrayed.  Their  means  of  doing  this  were 
deep,  subtle,  and  most  dangerous  to  the  candidate  selected.  They 
would  allure  those  marked  out  for  their  prey  with  hints,  seemingly 
incidental,  of  the  amazing  power  and  benefit  of  secret  societies. 
That  such  societies  did  exist,  embracing  the  greatest  characters  who 
were  able  to  govern  and  reform  the  world,  and  to  render  it  most 
happy.  Where  it  was  perceived  that  such  hints  took  effect, 
the  candidates  were  slyly  induced  to  engage  in  their  scheme,  and 
to  bind  themselves  to  yield  full  obedience  to  unknown  leaders, 
whose  orders  should,  in  some  way,  be  made  known  to  them.  Of 
such  leaders,  they  were  led  to  have  the  most  exalted  opinion,  that 
they  were  great,  wise,  and  good.  These  admiring  candidates  were 
taught  that  there  were  various  grades  in  these  secret  societies  ;  and 
that  new  and  wonderful  discoveries  were  to  be  made  to  them  at 
every  grade.  The  power  of  ambition  and  of  novelty  were  thus  made 
to  bear  upon  them,  and  to  arrest  their  ignorance  and  vanity.  The 
leaders  and  adepts  were  in  the  mean  time,  insidiously  engaged  in 
watching  their  pupils,  and  erasing  from  their  minds  all  impressions 
derived  from  religious  instruction ;  thus  preparing  them  to  pass,  with- 
out alarm,  to  higher  grades  of  infidelity.  To  such  grades  they 
were  admitted  with  various  imposing  ceremonies,  so  soon  as  it  was 
perceived  they  were  prepared  for  them,  and  would  not  retreat,  and 
expose  the  order.  When  it  was  found,  by  cautious  leaders,  that  they 
would  not  be  likely  to  receive  the  infidelity  of  higher  orders ;  the 
candidate  found  himself  neglected,  and  not  admitted  to  higher 
grades.  This  was  called  sta  bene  1  or,  very  well,  stayivhere  you  are. 
In  this  secret  and  gradual  process,  many  thousands  were  led  up  to 
their  higher  secrets,  of  atheism,  anarchy,  and  licentiousness. 

In  that  deep  system  of  infidelity,  the  aid  of  the  press  was  called 
in,  as  a  powerful  engine  of  their  order.  A  learned  encyclopedia 
was  by  them  formed,  and  given  to  the  world,  in  which  infidelity 
was  interwoven,  in  the  most  deep,  sly,  and  curious  manner.  And 
other  publications  innumerable,  and  even  down  to  the  smallest  tracts 
were  given,  with  a  view  to  fill  the  world  with  the  fatal  seeds  of  infi- 
delity. And  books  of  licentious  tendency  were  profusely  scattered, 
through  the  nations.  Printers  and  booksellers  were  artfully  enlisted 
in.  the  same  cause ;  and  funds  were  raised  to  indemnify  them  in 


346  LECTURE    XXX. 

suppressing  evangelical  publications  ;  and  in  giving  the  readiest 
currency  to  their  infidel  productions.  Reading  societies  too,  were 
formed,  to  give  the  infidel  publications  the  most  fatal  effect.  And 
the  direction  of  schools  was  extensively  obtained  by  the  leaders  of 
this  infidelity  ;  who  filled  them  with  such  instructers  as  they  chose, 
who  would  be  sure  to  guard  against  all  pious  instructions,  to  efface, 
as  far  as  possible,  all  religious  impressions  from  their  members,  and 
to  introduce  their  skeptical  sentiments  as  far  as  practicable. 

The  following  account  of  this  impious  system  is  from  the  pen  of 
the  celebrated  President  Dwight.  He  says,  "  They  ultimately 
spread  their  design  throughout  a  great  part  of  Europe ;  and  em- 
barked in  it  individuals,  at  little  distances,  over  almost  the  whole  of 
that  continent.  Their  adherents  inserted  themselves  into  every 
place,  office,  and  employment,  in  which  their  agency  might  be  effi- 
cacious, and  which  furnished  an  opportunity  of  spreading  their  cor- 
ruptions. They  were  found  in  every  literary  institution,  from  the 
lowest  school  to  the  academy  of  sciences  ;  and  in  every  civil  office, 
from  that  of  the  bailiff  to  that  of  the  monarch.  They  swarmed  in 
the  palace,  they  haunted  the  church.  Wherever  mischief  was  to 
be  done,  they  were  found  :  and  wherever  they  were  found,  mischief 
was  done.  Of  books,  they  controlled  the  publication,  the  charac- 
ter, and  the  sale.  An  immense  number  of  books  they  formed  ;  and 
an  immense  number  they  forged,  prefixing  to  them  the  names  of  re- 
putable writers,  and  sending  them  into  the  world  to  be  sold  for  a 
song  ;  and  (when  this  could  not  be  done)  to  be  given  away.  They 
possessed  themselves,  to  a  great  extent,  of  a  control  nearly  absolute, 
of  the  literary,  religious,  and  political  state  of  Europe.  They  pene- 
trated into  every  corner  of  human  society  ;  and  scarcely  a  man,  wo- 
man, or  child,  was  left  unassailed  wherever  there  was  a  single  hope 
that  the  attack  might  be  successful.  Books  were  written,  and  pub- 
lished in  multitudes,  in  which  infidelity  was  brought  down  to  the  level 
of  peasants,  and  even  of  children;  and  they  were  poured  with  immense 
assiduity  into  the  cottage,  and  the  school.  Others  of  a  superior 
kind  crept  into  the  shop,  and  farm-house ;  and  others  of  a  still  higher 
class  found  their  way  to  the  drawing-rooms,  the  university,  and 
the  palace."  This  sketch  gives  an  alarming  view  of  this  most  fatal 
order  of  infidelity.  Said  a  chief  of  this  scheme,  "All  the  German 
schools  and  the  Benevolent  Society,  are  at  last  under  our  direction. 
Lately  we  have  got  possession  of  the  Bartholomew  Institution  for 
young  clergymen  ;  having  secured  all  their  supporters.  Through  this 
we  shall  be  able  to  supply  Bavaria  with  fit  priests.  We  must  acquire 
the  direction  of  education,  of  church  management,  of  the  profes- 
sional chair,  and  of  the  pulpit.  We  must  preach  the  warmest  con- 
cern for  humanity,  and  make  people  indifferent  to  all  other  relations. 
We  must  gain  the  reviewers,  and  journalists,  and  booksellers." 
The  following  sentiments  were  given  in  their  own  language  :  '*  AH 
ideas  of  justice  and  injustice,  of  virtue  and  vice,  of  glory  and  infamy, 
are  purely  arbitrary,  and  dependent  on  custom.  The  man  who  is 
above  law,  can  commit,  without  remorse,  the  dishonest  act  that 
may  serve  his  purpose.  The  fear  of  God  is  so  far  from  being  the 
beginning  of  wisdom,  that  it  is  the  beginning  of  folly.  Modesty  is 
only  an  invention  of  refined  voluptuousness.  Virtue  and  honesty  are 
only  the  habit  of  actions  personally  advantageous."     ••  The  supreme 


CHAPTER   XVII.  347 

king  (their  code  adds),  the  God  of  Jews  and  Christians,  is  but  a 
phantom.  Jesus  Christ  is  an  impostor  !"  It  was  their  prime  practi- 
cal maxim, — gain  a  footing  by  fraud,  and  propagate  the  scheme  by 
force.  The  same  was  carried  out  in  the  following  instructions  to 
the  initiated ;  *'  Serve,  assist,  and  mutually  support  each  other. 
And  when  your  numbers  shall  be  augmented  to  a  certain  degree,  and 
you  have  acquired  strength  by  union  ;  then  hesitate  no  longer ; 
but  begin  to  render  yourselves  powerful  and  formidable.  You  will 
soon  acquire  a  sufficient  force  to  bind  the  hands  of  your  opponents, 
and  subjugate  them.  Extend  and  multiply  the  children  of  light,  till 
force  and  numbers  shall  throw  power  into  your  hands.  Nations 
must  be  brought  back  by  whatever  means  :  peaceably,  if  it  can  be 
done  ;  if  not,  then  by  force.  For  all  subordination  must  be  made 
to  vanish  from  the  world." 

This  fatal  diabolical  scheme  spread  not  only  through  France,  but 
in  Germany,  under  the  direction  of  its  arch  agent  Doctor  Adam 
Weishaupt,  Professor  of  Canon  Law  in  the  university  of  Ingolstadt : 
and  by  thousands  of  other  agents  in  the  old  countries.  Propagators 
of  this  system  were  profusely  extended  through  the  civilized  world, 
by  no  means  excepting  our  States,  as  has  been  shown  by  the  writers 
on  the  subject. 

In  this  system,  men  were  trained  to  infidelity,  cruelty,  and  blood, 
by  a  variety  of  the  most  efficacious  means.  Take  the  following 
instance,  as  it  is  given  by  a  celebrated  writer,  and  copied  by  many. 
"  A  candidate  for  one  of  the  higher  orders  was  conducted  into  a 
place  where  he  saw  the  dead  bodies  of  some  who  were  said  to 
have  been  executed  for  treason  to  their  order  (betraying  their 
secrets).  The  candidate  there  saw  his  own  brother  bound  hand 
and  foot,  begging  for  mercy,  and  praying  this  brother  to  intercede 
for  him.  This  candidate  was  informed  that  his  brother  was  about 
to  be  executed  for  having  betrayed  the  order ;  and  that  it  was  re- 
served for  him  to  be  the  executioner  of  this  just  vengeance  ;  that 
this  gave  him  opportunity  to  evince  his  attachment  and  zeal  for  the 
order.  He  was  told  that,  to  spare  his  feelings,  his  eyes  should  be 
blindfolded.  A  dagger  was  then  put  into  his  right-hand,  and  his 
left-hand  was  laid  on  the  palpitating  heart  of  the  victim,  and  he 
was  told  to  strike  ;  which  he  did.  And  when  the  blindfold  was 
taken  off,  he  saw  it  was  a  lamb  he  had  stabbed  ;  and  his  brother  was 
well,  and  pleased." 

In  such  ways,  men  were  trained  up  for  the  horrid  scenes  which 
took  place  in  France  in  and  after  the  revolution  of  1789.  Such 
was  the  rise  of  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit 


LECTURE    XXXI. 


REVELATION    XVII. 

Further  illustrations  will  here  be  given  of  verses  7-11, 
last  recited,  which  speak  of  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not, 
and  was  to  ascend  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  go  into 
perdition  :  which  is  the  eighth  head  of  the  secular  Roman 
beast)  and  of  the  seven.  It  has  been  shown  that  this 
beast  rose  from  the  bottomless  pit  in  the  Voltaire  system 
of  infidelity.  The  reign  of  this  healed  head  of  the  old 
pagan  beast,  which  is  in  this  chapter  noted  as  a  new  beast 
arising  from  the  bottomless  pit  (and  is  thus  known  under 
a  double  figure)  is  noted  as  being  short : — "  ascendeth  out 
of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  goeih  into  perdition!" — "whose 
judgment  lingereth  not ;  and  whose  damnation  slumbereth 
not!" 

A  bright  earnest  was  soon  given  of  this  trait  of  his  cha- 
racter,— an  anticipation  of  its  fulfilment  in  early  scenes 
after  the  revolution  in  France,  as  well  as  in  the  sinking  of 
the  dynasty  of  Bonaparte,  its  first  signal  leader.  It  was 
soon  demonstrated  that  infidelity  has  the  heart  of  a  demon, 
the  ferocity  of  a  tiger,  the  fangs  of  a  panther,  and  the 
fury  of  a  lion.  Its  delicious  food  is  blood  :  and  it  can  fly 
with  the  wings  of  a  fiend  to  the  field  of  carnage,  and  feed 
on  the  flesh  of  a  brotherhood.  The  first  leaders  of  that 
revolution,  in  great  numbers,  soon  destroyed  each  other. 
Heaven  let  loose  these  furious  men  upon  each  other,  and 
blessed  the  world  by  committing  them  to  an  early  grave. 
"In  Aug.  26,  1792,  an  open  profession  of  atheism  was 
made  by  the  National  Convention,  and  corresponding 
societies  and  atheistical  clubs  were  everywhere  held  fear- 
lessly and  undisguised."  Massacres  and  the  reign  of 
terror  succeeded,  to  tell  which  would  fill  a  volume.  Hear 
one  report  of  the  National  Convention  of  Jan.  30,  1795. 
"Last  year  you    maintained    1,100,000   fighting   men. 


CHAPTER    XVII,  349 

France  stood  armed  on  the  one  side,  Europe  on  the  other, 
and  victory  constantly  followed  the  tricoloured  standard. 
Holland  is  conquered,  and  England  trembles  ;  23  regular 
sieges  terminated  ;  6  pitched  battles  gained  ;  2,000  can^ 
non  taken;  2,000  towns  submiited  ;  such  is  the  glorious 
result  of  the  last  campaign  ;  the  next  promises,  if  possi- 
ble, more  surprising  success  !"  The  loss  of  men  in  the 
armies  of  France  from  1789  to  1796,  slain,  was  said  to 
be  1,200,000,  besides  the  huge  hosts  of  slaughtered  citi- 
zens, men,  women,  and  children,  who  were  said  to  amount 
to  2,000,000.  General  Denican,  a  French  officer,  de- 
clared that  3,000,000  of  the  French  perished  within  five 
years  of  the  revolution  in  1789.  The  "  Terrible  Republic''' 
(a  name  they  assumed  before  they  became  an  empire)  haV" 
ing  by  public  authority  denied  God  and  the  Christian  religion, 
"were  prepared  to  patronize  any  and  every  enormity  ;  the 
burning  of  the  Bible  in  a  public  place;  the  parading  of  the 
sacramental  vessels  through  the  streets  on  an  ass,  in  con- 
tempt ;  posting  in  their  places  of  burial,  "  Death  is  an  eternal 
sleep  !"  abolishing  the  Sabbath,  and  shutting  up  the  houses 
of  God  ;  declaring  Christ  an  impostor ;  the  gospel  a 
forgery  ;  and  swearing  to  extirpate  Christianity  from  the 
world  ;  assuring  the  public  as  follows, — "Man,  when  free, 
wants  no  other  divinity  than  himself, — reason  dethrones 
both  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  the  king  of  heaven, — no 
monarchy  above,  if  we  wish  to  preserve  our  republic  be- 
low,— every  other  than  a  republic  of  atheists  is  a  chimera, 
— if  you  admit  the  existence  of  a  heavenly  sovereign, 
you  introduce  the  wooden  horse  ;  what  you  adore  by  day, 
will  be  your  ruin  by  night."  A  comedian,  as  a  priest  of 
Illuminism,  publicly  attacked  God  tiius:  "  No,  thou  dost 
not  exist !  If  thou  hast  power  over  the  thunderbolts,  grasp, 
and  aim  them  at  the  man  who  dares  to  set  thee  at  defiance 
in  the  face  of  thine  altars.  But  no ! — I  blaspheme  thee, 
and  yet  I  live  !  No  ;  thou  dost  not  exist !"  Well  is  this 
beast  from  the  bottomless  pit  said  to  be  "full  of  the 
names  of  blasphemy,"  as  verse  3  of  our  context,  Soon 
did  they  receive  iheir  emperor, — military  despot ;  and 
soon  he  led  them  to  form  the  "  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine."  But  Bonaparte  was  not  the  beast  from  the  bot^ 
tomless  pit,  any  more  than  was  each  of  the  twenty  em- 
perors who  in  turn  reigned  in  the  first  existence  of  the 
imperial  head  of  this  beast  in  early  times, — that  sixth 
Gg 


350  LECTltRE    XXXI. 

head  of  the  Roman  beast.  It  depends  on  no  one  man. 
but  is  an  enormous  system  of  infidelity,  which  was  to 
be  sometimes  "6-^ron^,"  and  sometimes  "  iroAen" — "part 
of  iron  and  part  of  clay."  Let  one  or  twenty  of  its  dy- 
nasties fail ;  the  beast  is  the  same  till  he  goes  into  perdi- 
tion under  the  seventh  vial.  Rev.  xix.  19;  Dan.  vii.  11.* 
To  be  convinced  that  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit, 
in  this  chapter,  and  the  healed  head  in  chap,  xiii.,  are  the 
same  power  of  the  last  days,  please  to  compare  the  pas- 
sages, chap.  xiii.  l~10,  with  chap.  xvii.  7-14.  One  had 
a  deadly  wound,  but  is  now  whole  ;  the  other,  after  long 
absence,  arises  from  hell,  a  little  before  the  battle  of  the 
great  day.  To  the  one  is  given  "a  mouth  speaking  great 
things  and  blasphemies:"  the  other  is  "full  of  the  names 
of  blasphemy."  To  the  one  it  is  given  to  make  war  with 
the  saints ;  the  other  makes  war  with  the  Lamb.  One 
has  power  over  all  kindreds,  tongues,  and  nations  :  of  the 
other  it  is  said,  God  hath  put  in  their  (the  nations')  hearts 
to  agree  and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the  beast,  till  his 
word  is  fulfilled.  All  the  world  wonders  after  the  one, 
whose  names  are  not  in   the  book  of  life  :  of  the  other, 

*  In  Isaiah  xiv.  relative  to  Babylon,  we  have  a  prediction,  which 
Scott  conceives  is  to  have  its  ultimate  fulfilment  in  the  last  days  : 
we  read,  "  Rejoice  not  thou,  whole  Palestina  (papal  Philistines), 
because  the  rod  of  him  that  smote  thee  is  broken.  For  out  of  the 
serpent's  root  shall  come  forth  a  cockatrice,  and  his  fruit  shall  be  a 
fiery  flying  serpent."  Here  one  had  smitten  them  ;  but  his  rod  was 
broken,  upon  which  they  rejoiced  ;  but  Heaven  says,  Rejoice  not, 
and  tells  the  reason  why  ;  and  then  adds,  "  for  there  shall  come  forth 
from  the  north  a  smoke." — "Thou,  whole  Palestina,  dissolved!"  (i.  e. 
shall  be  dissolved.)  And  the  verse  following  tells  the  time,  and  the 
consequence,  "  What  shall  one  then  answer  the  messengers  of  the 
nation  1  That  the  Lord  hath  founded  Zion,  and  the  poor  of  his 
people  shall  trust  in  it."  We  have  here  the  Millennium, — and  also 
events  which  just  precede  it.  And  the  breaking  of  this  rod  of  the 
oppressor  explains  what  precedes  in  this  chapter,  verse  5-20,  which 
please  to  read.  We  have  here  one  who  has  smitten  the  nations, 
and  is  then  broken, — fills,  as  Lucifer, — the  day-star  falling  from 
heaven  ;  and  is  thus  addressed,  "  Is  this  the  man  that  did  make  the 
earth  to  tremble  ;  and  did  shake  the  kingdoms  V'  And  he  is  noted  as 
cast  out  of  his  grave,  or  the  stately  sepulchres  of  kings, — "  an 
abominable  branch," — and  in  burial  separated  from  all  of  his  impe- 
rial character ;  going  down  to  the  stones  of  the  pit,  or  to  a  stony 
grave,  separate  and  unhonoured  !  But  the  people  whom  he  has 
smitten  arc  assured  that  greater  evils  are  before  them.  From  his 
roots  (or  in  some  way  from  the  same  system),  shall  come  a  cocka- 
trice and  a  fiery  flying  serpent. 


CHAPTER    XVII.  351 

they  that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder,  whose  names 
are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life.  What  is  wanting  to 
constitute  them  one  and  the  same.  They  are  both  the 
secular  Roman  beast  of  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and 
distinct  from  popery. 

The  imperial  head  of  the  Roman  beast,  then,  or  a  mili- 
tary despotism,  is  noted  as  having  two  distinct  and  distant 
reigns.  Under  the  one,  Christ  was  crucified,  and  his  fol- 
lowers persecuted  :  under  the  other,  war  with  Christ  is 
the  object,  and  his  witnesses  are  to  be  sorely  depressed 
for  a  time.  The  one  received  a  wound  and  died,  in  the 
revolution  under  Constantine,  under  the  figures  Rev. 
vi.  12,  to  end:  the  other  is  to  go  into  perdition  in  the 
battle  of  the  great  day  of  God. 

Ver.  12.  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest 
are  ten  kings,  which  have  received  no  kingdom  as 
yet :  but  receive  power  as  kings  one  hour  with  the 
beast. 

The  old  Roman  beast  had  ten  horns ;  and  the  new 
beast  from  the  bottomless  pit  is  noied  as  having  ten  horns. 
Some  have  imagined  the  horns  of  the  former  to  have  been 
the  fragments  into  which  the  old  empire  was  finally 
divided  ;  but  this  seems  unnatural.  Horns  are  emblems 
of  power ;  but  these  fragments  into  which  the  empire 
dwindled,  were  fatal  effects  of  its  weakness.  And  these 
fragments  came  into  existence  long  after  the  beast  was 
wounded  to  death  by  the  revolution  under  Constantine, 
and  died.  I  shall,  then,  consider  these  horns  of  the  first 
beast  as  the  kingdoms  which  actually  constituted  the 
strength  of  the  empire  in  its  glory.  These  were  its  horns 
indeed  ;  and  they  vv-ere  many,  if  not  precisely  ten.  We 
find,  at  once,  under  the  dominion  of  Caesar, — Italy,  Greece, 
Macedon,  Syria,  Egypt,  Ethiopia,  Carthage,  Spain,  Gaul, 
and  Britain.  Who  can  tell  why  these  were  not  the  ten 
horns  of  that  beast  ?  Daniel  seems  to  decide  that  they 
were  thus,  when  he  says,  Dan.  ii.  44 ;  "  In  the  days  of 
these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom." 
What  kings? — the  ten  toes  of  the  great  image,  which  had 
just  been  noted  ;  which  were  the  same  with  the  ten  horns 
of  the  beast  under  consideration.  This  text  had  its  pri- 
mary fulfilment  in  the  setting  up  of  Christ's  kingdom,  in 


352  LECTURE   XXXl* 

the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era  :  and  is  to  have  ati 
ultimate  one  in  the  coming  of  the  Millennium.  The  for- 
mer took  place  in  the  days  of  those  kings  denoted  by  the 
ten  toes  of  the  image ;  the  latter  is  to  take  place  after  the 
fall  of  the  beast  from  the  bottomless  pit.  These  horns, 
verse  16  informs  us,  hate,  burn,  and  destroy  the  papal 
harlot.  Says  Mr.  Pool;  "I  am  much  inclined  to  think 
the  prophecy  (of  these  ten  horns)  to  concern  some  kings 
near  the  end  of  the  antichristian  reign."  This  must  in- 
deed be  the  case.  In  Dan  xi.  this  same  wilful  kingdonni 
of  the  last  days  is  found  subduing-  the  nations,  and  dividing 
their  territories  for  his  gain.  What  is  this  but  the  form- 
ing of  his  horns  1  Should  ten  such  horns  be  found  at  any 
one  time  to  exist,  it  would  be  sufficient  to  fix  this  his 
character,*  even  should  they  continue,  as  our  text  assures 
they  will,  but  one  prophetic  hour.  They  "  have  received 
no  kingdom  as  yet,  butr«  receive  power,  as  kings,  one  hour 
with  the  beast."  Each  has  a  semblance  of  a  kingdom,  a 
shadow  of  it  without  the  substance;  and  even  this  but  for 
an  hour.  The  ancient  horns  of  the  beast  had  their  king- 
doms,— and  this  for  long  periods.  But  the  horns  of  the 
beast  from  the  bottomless  pit  seem  to  obtain  no  real  king- 
dom, but  the  name  only.  Its  leader  gives  no  real  king- 
dom, but  empty  titles.  So  manifestly  are  the  two  sets  of 
horns  distinct  from  each  other. 

*  After  the  French  empire  arose,  we  find  the  "  Confederation  of 
the  Rhine."  And  the  following  creation  of  kings  was  agreed  upon 
by  Napoleon  and  the  emperor  of  Austria  (the  former  being  the  Em- 
peror of  France,  and  the  king  of  the  Romans  ;  and  the  latter» 
copartner  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine). 

1.  Archduke  Charles,  king  of  Spain,  and  of  the  Indies. 

2.  Joseph  Napoleon,  king  of  Italy. 

3.  Ferdinand  IV.  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies, 

4.  Joachim,  king  of  Poland. 

5.  Eugene,  king  of  Macedonia. 

6.  Louis  Napoleon,  king  of  Bavaria. 

7.  The  hereditary  prince  of  Bavaria,  king  of  Holland. 

8.  Jerome  Bonaparte,  king  of  Wirtemberg. 

9.  The  king  of  Wirtemberg,  to  be  king  of  Westphalia. 
10.  The  grand  duke  of  Baden,  to  be  king  of  Switzerland. 
Whether  these  were  the  ten  horns  of  this  beast,  or  whether  other 

nations  where  this  system  of  infidelity  is  planted,  who  may  agree 
and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the  beast,  will  yet  form  them,  time 
will  decide. 


CHAPTER  XVII.  S53 

Ver.  13.  These  have  one  mind,  and  shall  give 
their  power  and  strength  unto  the  beast. 

We  have  here  recognised,  in  the  kingdoms  that  com- 
pose these  ten  horns,  a  signal  yielding  to  the  influence  of 
the  beast,  in  which  the  governing  Providence  of  God  is 
clearly  confessed,  for  the  fulfilment  of  his  word  in  judg- 
ments upon  his  enemies,  and  trial  of  his  friends.  We 
must  believe  that  things  are  still  pending  which  will  give 
an  ultimate  fulfihnent  of  this  passage,  as  it  will  be  fulfilled 
when  the  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  shall  gather  the  nations 
and  assemble  the  kingdoms  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day 
of  God,  Rev.  xvi.  13,  14,  and  xix.  19,  where  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  under  the  beast  are  drawn  up  in  battle 
array  against  Christ. 

Ver.  14.  These  shall  make  war  with  the  Lamb, 
and  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  them :  for  he  is  the 
Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings :  and  they  that  are 
with  him  are  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful. 

We  have  here  the  great  object  of  the  beast  of  the  last 
days,  "  war  with  the  Lamb,'' — war  with  the  saints.  Here 
is  the  rage  of  Satan  in  his  last  efforts,  when  he  knoweth 
that  his  time  is  short.  But  though  he  may  seem  to  prevail 
for  a  short  time  (say  three  years  and  a  half),  Christ  will 
thenceforth  prevail,  and  make  his  cause  triumphant  over 
the  world.  "  For  he  is  Lord  of  lords,  and  king  of  kings  ;" 
and  his  followers  are  "  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful." 

Ver.  15.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  The  waters 
which  thou  sawest,  where  the  whore  sitteth,  are 
peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and  tongues. 

16.  And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  upon 
the  beast,  these  shall  hate  the  whore,  and  shall  make 
her  desolate  and  naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and 
burn  her  with  fire. 

17.  For  God  hath  put  in  their  hearts  to  fulfil  his 
will,  and  to  agree,  and  to  give  their  kingdom  unto 
the  beast,  until  the  words  of  God  shall  be  fulfilled. 

18.  And  the  woman  which   thou  sawest  is  that 

Gg2 


354  LECTURE  xxxn. 

great  city   which  reigneth  over   the   kings  of  the 
earth. 

We  have  here  a  confirmation  of  the  remark,  that  the 
beast  with  the  papal  harlot  on  his  back,  is  indeed  bearing 
her  as  her  executioner  to  the  place  of  her  execution.  As 
the  beast  was  gendered  in  the  abominations  of  popery ;  so 
it  is  made  to  operate  as  a  rod  of  iron  to  dash  her  to 
pieces,  and  then  to  destroy  itself 

So  easily  can  God  confound  his  enemies,  and  make 
them  to  furnish  rods  of  iron  for  their  own  destruction. 
And  we  have  in  this  chapter  the  estimation  in  which  God 
holds  the  remaining  system  of  popery.  This  fatal  system 
is  now  struggling  to  fill  our  beloved  land,  as  the  last  hope 
of  the  papal  see.  And  our  incautious  and  ungrateful  na- 
tion may  indeed  by  this  means  be  scourged.  But  the 
fall  of  that  system  of  the  dragon  is  revealed,  and  is 
inevitable* 


LECTURE    XXXII. 


Revelation  xvm. 

Ver.  1.  And  after  these  things  I  saw  another 
iangel  come  down  from  heaven,  having  great  power ; 
and  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory. 

2>  And  he  cried  mightily  with  a  strong  voice,  say- 
ing, Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  and  is  become  the 
habitation  of  devils,  and  the  hold  of  every  foul 
spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird. 

3.  For  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the  wine  of  the 
wraih  of  her  fornication,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth 
have  committed  fornication  with  her,  and  the  mer- 


CHAPl'ER  xviii.  355 

chants  of  the  earth  are  waxed  rich  through  the  abun- 
dance of  her  delicacies. 

4.  And  I  heard  another  voice  from  heaven,  say- 
ing, Come  out  of  her,  my  people,  that  ye  be  not  par- 
takers of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her 
plague. 

5.  For  her  sins  have  reached  unto  heaven,  and 
God  hath  remembered  her  iniquities. 

6.  Reward  her  even  as  she  rewarded  you,  and 
double  unto  her  double,  according  to  her  works  :  in 
the  cup  which  she  hath  filled,  fill  to  her  double. 

7.  How  much  she  hath  gloried  herself,  and  lived 
deliciously,  so  much  torment  and  sorrow  give  her: 
for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no 
widow,  and  shall  see  no  sorrow. 

8.  Therefore  shall  her  plagues  come  in  one  day^ 
death,  and  mourning,  and  famine  :  and  she  shall  be 
utterly  burned  with  fire  :  for  strong  is  the  Lord  God 
who  judgeth  her. 

9.  And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  have  committed 
fornication  and  lived  deliciously  \\  ith  her,  shall  be- 
wail her,  and  lament  for  her,  when  they  shall  see  the 
smoke  of  her  burning. 

10.  Standing  afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  torment, 
saying,  Alas,  alas,  that  great  city  Babylon,  that 
mighty  city  !  for  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment  come. 

11.  And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  shall  weep 
and  mourn  over  her  ;  for  no  man  buyeth  their  mer- 
chandise any  more : 

12.  The  merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  pre- 
cious stones,  and  of  pearls,  and  fine  linen,  and  pur- 
ple, and  silk,  and  scarlet,  and  all  thyine  wood,  and 
all  manner  vessels  of  ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels 
of  most  precious  wood^  and  of  brass,  and  of  iron,  and 
marble, 

13.  And  cinnamon,  and  odours,  and  ointments, 
and  frankincense,  and  wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour* 
and  wheat,  and  beasts,  and  sheep,  and  horses,  and 
chariots,  and  slaves,  and  souls  of  men. 

14   And  the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusteth  after  are 


356  LECTURE    XXXII. 

departed  from  thee,  and  ail  things  which  are  dainty 
and  goodly  are  departed  from  thee,  and  thou  shall 
find  them  no  more  at  all. 

15.  The  merchants  of  these  things,  which  were 
made  rich  by  her,  shall  stand  afar  off  for  the  fear  of 
her  torments,  weeping  and  wailing, 

16.  And  saying,  Alas,  alas,  that  great  city,  that 
was  clothed  in  fine  linen,  and  purple,  and  scarlet, 
and  decked  with  gold,  and  precious  stones,  and 
pearls ! 

17.  For  in  one  hour,  so  great  riches  is  come  to 
naught.  And  every  shipmaster,  and  all  the  com- 
pany in  ships,  and  sailors,  and  as  many  as  trade  by 
sea,  stood  afar  off, 

18.  And  cried,  when  they  saw  the  smoke  of  her 
burning,  saying,  What  city  is  like  unto  this  great 
city  ! 

19.  And  they  cast  dust  on  their  heads,  and  cried, 
weeping  and  wailing,  saying,  Alas,  alas,  that  great 
city,  wherein  were  made  rich  all  that  had  ships  in 
the  sea,  by  reason  of  her  costliness  !  for  in  one  hour 
is  she  made  desolate. 

20.  Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy 
apostles  and  prophets :  for  God  hath  avenged  you 
on  her. 

21.  And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone  like  a 
great  millstone,  and  cast  z7  into  the  sea,  saying.  Thus 
with  violence  shall  that  great  city  Babylon  be  thrown 
down,  and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all. 

22.  And  the  voice  of  harpers,  and  musicians,  and 
of  pipers,  and  trumpeters  shall  be  heard  no  more  at 
all  in  thee  ;  and  no  craftsman,  of  whatsoever  craft 
he  be,  shall  be  found  any  more  in  thee ;  and  the 
sound  of  a  millstone  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in 
thee  ; 

23.  And  the  light  of  a  candle  shall  shine  no  more 
at  all  in  thee  ;  and  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and 
of  the  bride  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee : 
for  thy  merchants  were  the  great  men  of  the  earth : 
for  by  thy  sorceries  were  all  nations  deceived. 


CHAPTER    XVIII.  357 

24.  And  in  her  was  found  the  blood  of  prophets, 
and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that  were  slain  upon  the 
earth. 

We  have  here  the  fall  of  the  papal  beast, — the  fall  of 
popery,  from  being  a  reigning  power,  under  the  fifth  vial ; 
not  her  final  destruction  under  the  seventh.  This  chap- 
ter gives  the  same  event  with  that  in  chapter  x., — the  same 
descent  of  Christ.  So  great  an  event  should  be  given  in 
each  great  division  of  the  book;  and  this  second  view  of  it 
should  be  found  alluding  chiefly  to  its  effects  on  the  state 
and  feelings  of  the  friends  of  the  papal  see.  These  ac- 
counts of  that  event  should  each  be  introduced  as  a  notable 
descent  of  Christ.  And  in  the  text  he  cries  with  a  loud 
voice,  "  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen  !'*  Or,  the  dominant 
power  of  popery  is  broken  by  the  pouring  of  a  vial  of 
wrath  on  its  throne.  Rev.  xvi.  10.  This  phrase  seems  to 
rest  on  Isa.  xxi.  9,  as  a  parent  text,  and  as  giving  the 
same  event.  And  it  is  also  the  same  event  and  period 
with  that  given  by  the  second  angel,  Rev.  xiv.  8 :  "  And 
there  followed  another  angel  (next  after  the  angel  of  mis- 
sions now  flying)  staying,  Babylon  is  fallen,  is  fallen !" 
In  this  passage  (chap.  xiv.  8),  we  find  that  this  fall  of  the 
papal  Babylon  is  an  event  distinct  from,  and  antecedent 
to  her  final  destruction  with  the  infidel  beast  under  the 
seventh  vial ;  as  this  latter  event,  in  this  14th  chapter,  is 
given  at  its  close,  under  the  figure  of  the  harvest  and  vin- 
tage, which  are  distinctly  future  of  this  fall  of  papal  Baby- 
lon. This  the  glancing  of  our  eye  upon  that  chapter 
will  show.  This  fall  of  Babylon,  then,  is  the  fall  of 
popery  under  the  fifth  vial ;  her  Adl  from  being  a  reigning 
power.  These  passages  are  a  calling  of  the  attention  of 
mankind  to  this  event,  as  a  fact^  which  is  an  interesting 
sign  of  the  times,  and  connected  with  other  things  of  prime 
importance. 

In  this  fall,  papal  Babylon  had  exhibited  to  the  world, 
the  fact,  that  her  realms  were  but  a  "habitation  of  devils  ; 
a  hold  of  every  foul  spirit ;  and  a  cage  of  every  unclean 
and  hated  bird,"  as  our  text  assures.  The  abominations 
of  this  system  were,  to  a  great  degree,  exhibited  to  the 
world,  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  same  thing 
had  ever  since  been  more  and  more  manifest.  But,  at 
this  time,  in  the  bursting  out  of  the  Voltaire  infidelity,  in 


358  LECTURE  xxxn. 

and  after  the  French  revolution,  the  blasphemies  and 
licentiousness  of  the  system  petrified  the  world  with  hor- 
ror !  It  seemed  like  the  infernal  world  broke  loose 
indeed  :  and  we  can  scarcely  conceive  what  more  woulJy 
or  could  have  been  done,  had  all  the  legions  of  the  fallen 
angels  been  suffered  to  come  forth,  incarnate  and  visible 
on  earth,  and  done  their  worst !  Here  was  a  beast  from 
the  bottomless  pit  indeed.  No  wonder,  then,  another 
voice  from  heaven  was  heard,  as  verse  4-7  of  our  text, 
warning  against  all  affinity  with  Babylon, — calling  on 
people  to  come  out  of  her, — or  sink  under  her  plagues  ; 
precisely  as  is  given  in  warning  by  the  third  angel  flying 
in  the  midst  of  heaven,  chap.  xiv.  8-11 ;  warning  all  that 
have  the  mark  of  the  beast,  of  the  pending  judgments  of 
Heaven  that  shall  fall  upon  them.  Compare  the  two  pas- 
sages, and  we  may  well  tremble  at  the  judgments  of  God, 
while  we  feel  the  urgent  duty  of  avoiding  all  connexion 
both  with  the  papal  see,  and  the  more  latent  system  of 
infidelity.  The  mark  of  these  systems  in  either  the 
forehead  or  hand,  here  ensures  the  eternal  burning  of 
divine  wrath.  Her  sins  having  reached  heaven,  and  God 
having  taken  her  in  hand,  he  will  give  her  little  respite 
till  the  seventh  vial  shall  finish  the  scene  of  divine  wrath 
on  the  whole  concern  of  popery,  and  the  horrid  scheme  of 
infidelity  which  originated  in  her  corruptions.  The  saints 
are  called  upon  (verse  6),  to  execute  upon  papal  Babylon 
the  judgments  of  Heaven  denounced  upon  her,  and  to 
double  them  to  her  for  the  persecutions  they  have  re- 
ceived. The  Bible  sense  of  this  has  been  explained,  as 
being  the  same  with  that  of  the  two  witnesses  having  power 
to  shut  heaven  ;  and  to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues ; 
and  with  the  honour  of  the  saints,  in  Psalm  cxlix  ;— 
executing  uj)on  the  enemies  of  God  the  divine  judgments  ; 
also  saints  breaking  the  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron.  Rev. 
ii.  27.  The  allusion  clearly  is  to  the  power  of  their 
prayers  with  God  ; — Christ's  destroying  his  enemies  in 
their  behalf;  and  their  fellowship  with  him  in  it.  In  the 
battle  of  the  great  day  all  this  will  be  fulfilled.  "There- 
fore shall  her  plagues  come  in  one  day,"  verse  8.  And 
the  same  is  in  verse  21,  assuring,  that  with  violence  shall 
the  whole  concern  of  popery  and  of  atheism  then  sink,  as 
a  millstone  in  the  ocean,  to  utter  perdition.  The  wailings 
of  papal  kings  are  noted ; — crying  "  a/a^,"  at  her  ruins, 


CHAPTER   XVIII.  359 

which  loom  up  before  them  like  the  smoke  of  a  city 
which  has  fallen  in  devouring  flames  !  Kings  and  first 
characters  of  papal  eartli ;  those  mystic  buyers  of  her 
merchandise,  howl  and  bewail  her  darling  fallen  glory! 
Priests,  cardinals,  and  legates, — all  their  popes, — arch- 
bishops, Jesuits,  venders  of  sins  ;  bishops  and  friars,  keep- 
ers of  their  nuns  ;  haters  of  marriage  (pure  in  heart  no 
doubt),  this  horde  of  papal  merchants,  once  most  rich,  but 
now  how  fallen  ;  all  lament  and  mourn,  "  Alas,  alas," 
such  glory,  O  how  fallen.  Well  are  these  hordes  of  the 
papal  hierarchy  noted  as  her  merchants,  and  as  being  rich 
by  the  abundance  of  her  delicacies, — rich,  in  trading  in 
the  souls  of  men.  The  invoice  of  the  delectable  variety 
of  their  riches  is  mystically  given  in  this  chapter.  Papal 
history  tells  the  true  story  ; — vending  indulgences  to  sin, 
pardoning  sins,  and  praying  souls  out  of  purgatory  for 
money  : — by  things  like  these  those  merchants  had  their 
wealth  !  Fat  livings  flowed  thence  in  great  abundance. 
The  coflfers  of  his  holiness,  how  rich  ! — eight  millions  of 
dollars,  annually,  were  said  to  be  his  revenue.  And  his 
clergy  were  made  rich  indeed.  But  behold  their  tremen- 
dous reverse.  "  The  merchants  of  these  things, — made 
rich  by  her,  stand  afar  off",  weeping  and  wailing,  and  say- 
ing, Alas,  alas,  for  in  one  hour  so  great  riches  are  come 
to  naught!"  Behold  the  contrast  between  them  and  the 
dear  people  of  God,  verse  20.  "Rejoice  over  her,  thou 
heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and  prophets  :  for  God  hath 
avenged  you  on  her."  They  rejoice  not  in  revenge  ;  but 
in  holy  love  to  God,  and  to  his  justice  and  truth.  The 
falling  of  popery  is  matter  of  joy  to  heaven  and  earth  ! 
Its  fall  commenced  in  the  Reformation;  and  succeeding 
vials  of  wrath  pushed  forward  the  same  event.  The  fifth 
vial  (verse  2d  of  our  text)  hurled  the  hateful  power  from 
all  her  reigning  predominance,  flung  her  upon  the  back 
of  a  military  despotism,  and  set  her  on  the  way  to  the 
fatal  execution  of  the  seventh  vial,  when  the  declaration 
(verse  21  of  our  text)  shall  be  fulfilled  :  "And  a  mighty 
angel  took  up  a  stone  like  a  millstone,  and  cast  it  into  the 
sea,  saying.  Thus  with  violence  shall  that  great  city  Baby- 
lon be  thrown  down,  and  shall  be  found  no  more  at  all." 
It  is  plain,  then,  that  after  the  papal  mystery  Babylon  the 
great  "is  fallen,  is  fallen,"  as  in  our  text,  verse  2  (fallen 
under  the  fifth  vial  as  has  been  shown :  fallen,  as  in  cliap. 


360  LECTURE    XXXII. 

xiv.  8,  at  a  period  distinctly  antecedent  to  the  battle  of 
the  great  day—the  seventh  vial,  as  is  there  shown)  ;  yet 
in  verse  21  of  our  text,  a  great  Babylon  is  still  to  fall  ;  to 
fall  under  the  seventh  vial,  as  a  millstone  sunk  in  the 
ocean.  To  recollect  this  fact,  which  has  before  been 
given,  turn  to  Rev.  xix.  19,  2U,  and  Dan.  vii.  11,  where 
both  give  the  same  idea, — that  the  infidel  Roman  beast 
stands  first,  in  that  closing  scene ;  and  popery  (^in  Daniel, 
the  horn  of  that  beast,  and  in  Rev.  xix.  xhe  false  prophet 
under  him)  is  next,  and  sinks  wiih  the  beast  to  perdition, 
thus  evident  it  is,  that  the  Babylon  in  verse  21  of  our  text 
is  that  great  beast  ;  and  the  Babylon,  which  has  already 
fallen,  in  verse  2  of  our  text,  is  fallen  popery.  In  this 
fall  of  the  system  of  infidelity  and  popery,  the  beast  of 
Rev.  xvii.  executes  his  commission  upon  the  filthy  papal 
harlot  mounted  on  his  back,  who  herself  had  been  Mys- 
tery, Babylon  the  Great,  so  long  as  she  reigned  over  the 
kings  of  the  earth.  But  she  fell  from  that  dominant  state 
under  a  military  power,  which  under  a  succeeding  vial  of 
wrath,  the  seventh,  *'  eats  her  flesh,  and  burns  her  with 
fire,"  and  is  the  means  of  her  and  its  own  destruction. 

The  last  verse  of  our  text  assures  that  "in  her  was 
found  the  blood  of  prophets,  and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that 
were  slain  upon  the  earth."  Seas  of  the  blood  of  martyrs, 
the  papal  power  had  actually  shed  for  many  centuries ; 
and  the  harlot  is  thus  "drunken  with  the  blood  of  the 
saints."  Her  murderous  sword  had  shed  the  blood  of 
millions  of  the  dear  followers  of  the  Lamb.  And  she  had 
thus  approved,  and  virtually  made  her  own,  all  the  guilt 
of  persecution,  from  the  days  of  Cain.  The  seas  of  blood 
shed  in  pagan  Rome,  this  mother  of  harlots  has  taken  to 
herself,  by  making  an  image  to  that  pagan  beast, — com- 
manding all  to  worship  it, — and  causing  that  all  who 
would  not,  should  die !  This  sentiment,  our  blessed 
Lord  applied  to  the  Jews  thus ;  Luke  xi.  47  ;  "  Wo  unto 
you  ;  for  ye  build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  and  your 
fathers  killed  them.  Truly  your  bear  witness  that  ye 
allow  the  deeds  of  your  fathers."  Christ  then  assures 
them,  that  all  the  blood  which  had  been  shed  in  the  ages 
from  Abel,  should  be  required  of  them  who  by  their  per- 
secuting spirit  had  approved  of  such  persecution,  and  thus 
make  the  guilt  their  own.  This  illustrates  the  last  verse 
in  our  text,  that  in  her  is  found  all  the  blood  shed  upon  the 
earth! 


LECTURE    XXXIII. 


REVELATION    XIX. 


Ver.  1.  And  after  these  things  I  heard  a  great 
voice  of  much  people  in  heaven,  saying,  Alleluia  i 
Salvation,  and  glory,  and  honour,  and  power,  unto 
the  Lord  our  God  : 

2.  For  true  and  righteous  are  his  judgments :  for 
he  hath  judged  the  great  whore,  which  did  corrupt  the 
earth  with  her  fornication,  and  hath  avenged  the 
blood  of  his  servants  at  her  hand. 

3.  And  again  they  said,  Alleluia.  And  her  smoke 
rose  up  for  ever  and  ever. 

4.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  and  the  four 
beasts,  fell  down  and  worshipped  God  that  sat  on 
the  throne,  saying,  Amen  ;  Alleluia. 

5.  And  a  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying, 
Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear 
him,  both  small  and  great. 

6.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great 
multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as 
the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying,  Alleluia : 
for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth. 

7.  Let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  give  honour  to 
him  :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his 
wife  hath  made  herself  ready. 

8.  And  to  her  was  granted  that  she  should  be  ar- 
rayed in  fine  linen,  clean  and  white :  for  the  fine  linen 
is  the  righteousness  of  saints. 

9.  And  he  saith  unto  me.  Write,  Blessed  are  they 
which  are  called  unto  the  marriage  supper  of  the 

Hh 


362  LECTURE    XXXIII. 

Lamb.     And  he  saith  unto  me,  These  are  the  true 
sayings  of  God. 

10.  And  I  fell  at  his  feet  to  worship  him.  And 
he  said  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not.  I  am  thy  fellow- 
servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  that  have  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  :  worship  God :  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus 
is  the  spirit  of  prophecy. 

11.  And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a 
white  horse  ;  and  he  that  sat  upon  him  loas  called 
Faithful  and  True  ;  and  in  righteousness  he  doth 
judge  and  make  war. 

12.  His  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his 
head  wei^e  many  crowns  ;  and  he  had  a  name  written 
that  no  man  knew  but  he  himself. 

13.  And  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in 
blood :  and  his  name  is  called  The  Word  of  God. 

14.  And  the  armies  which  were  m  heaven  followed 
him  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white 
and  clean. 

15.  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword, 
that  with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations  :  and  he  shall 
rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  he  treadeth  the 
wine-press  of  the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty 
God. 

16.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesiwre  and  on  his  thigh  a 
name  written,  KING  OF  KINGS,  AND  LORD 
OF  LORDS. 

17.  And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun :  and 
he  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the  fowls 
that  fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  Come  and  gather 
yourselves  together  unto  the  supper  of  the  great 
God; 

18.  That  ye  may  eot  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the 
flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and  the 
flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them,  and 
the  flesh  of  all  men^  both  free  and  bond,  both  small 
atid  great. 

19.  And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  and  their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make 


CHAPTER   XIX.  36a 

war  against  him  that  sat  on  the  horse,  and  against 
his  army. 

20.  And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him  the 
false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles  before  him,  with 
which  he  deceived  them  that  had  received  the  mark 
of  the  beast,  and  them  that  worshipped  his  image. 
These  both  were  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning 
with  brimstone. 

21.  And  the  remnant  were  slain  with  the  sword 
of  him  that  sat  upon  the  horse,  which  sword  proceeded 
out  of  his  mouth :  and  all  the  fowls  were  filled  with 
their  flesh. 

This  chapter  gives  the  two  most  signal  temporal  events 
found  in  prophecy  ; — the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God, 
and  the  introduction  of  the  Millennium.  The  latter,  it 
gives  first ;  as  is  the  case  in  the  seventh  trumpet,  and  the 
seventh  vial.  In  these  three  passages  (which  all  allude 
to  the  same  two  great  events),  when  the  time  of  the  great 
battle  arrives,  the  hearts  of  the  saints  are  fortified  by  first 
presenting  them  with  the  blessed  commencement  of  the 
Millennium.  The  passages  then  revert  back  to  the  battle, 
and  give  a  concise  view  of  it. 

After  these  things  (says  verse  1st  of  the  text),  a  great 
voice  of  much  people  in  heaven  is  heard  ;  the  sentiment 
of  the  church,  perhaps  militant,  and  triumphant, — and  of 
angels,  giving  praise  and  glory  to  God  for  his  judgments 
thus  executed  on  papal  A.ntichrist,  and  the  horrid  system 
of  atheism  lately  raised  from  the  bottomless  pit.  These 
unitedly  (the  beast,  and  the  false  prophet)  will  now  have 
sunk  in  perdition  ;  for  which  the  elders,  the  living  creatures, 
and  a  voice  from  the  throne,  give  united  glory  to  God, 
and  sing  Alleluia;  and  the  smoke  of  the  torment  of  the 
fallen  legions  ascends  up  for  ever.  The  voice  of  this 
united  praise  is  like  the  ^roaring  of  many  waters,  and  of 
mighty  thunders  !  and  the  sentiment  is,  "for  the  Lord 
God  omnipotent  reigneth."  God  now,  and  henceforth, 
reigns  on  earth  in  the  hearts  of  its  holy  and  obedient  inhab- 
itants. God  from  the  beginning  has  reigned,  in  his  whole 
empire  of  creation,  doing  all  his  will ;  the  grand  result  of 
the  whole  of  which  will  then  be  found  to  be,  that  all  anti- 
christian  enemies  are  swept  from  the  earth,  and  the  morning 


364  LECTURE  xxxin. 

of  the  long-sought  Millennium  has  blessed  the  world.  This 
is  noted  as  the  arrival  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  for 
which  the  church  is  noted  as  ready,  dressed  in  her  fine 
linen  of  sanctification  and  justification,  white  and  clean ; 
»♦  has  made  herself  ready."  The  sovereign  grace  of  God 
has  done  it ;  but  in  the  way  of  her  own  activity,  holy  love, 
and  faithfulness.  All  who  come  to  this  joyful  occasion 
are  pronounced  "  blessed."  The  same  we  find  in  Dan. 
xii.  12  ;  "Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth  and  cometh  to  the 
thousand  three  hundred  and  five-and-thirty  days  !"  or, 
the  rising  of  the  millennial  sun.  They  have  obeyed  the 
call  of  Christ  in  a  sense  never  done  before  :  "Rise  up,  my 
love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away." 

But  how  is  this  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  ?  Is  not 
that  event  after  the  judgment  day?  We  read  of  it,  chap. 
Xxi.  "I  will  show  thee  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife  !" — "a 
bride  adorned  for  her  husband."  "  I  will  no  more  drink  of 
the  juice  of  the  wine  (said  our  Saviour),  till  I  drink  it  new 
with  you  in  my  kingdom."  These  allude  to  the  glorified 
church.  The  morning  of  the  Millennium  is  so  noted,  in 
our  text,  by  a  prolipsis ;  and  by  giving  to  the  type  the 
name  of  the  thing  typified :  a  thing  not  uncommon. 
The  Millennium  will  be  a  bright  resemblance  of  heaven. 
Hence  one  of  the  glories  of  heaven  is  here  ascribed  to  it, 
"  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb."* 

*  In  2  Pet.  iii.  13,  we  have,  after  the  find  conflagration,  a  new 
heavens  and  a  new  earth  ;  and  these  are  said  to  be  according  to  di- 
vine promise.  In  Rev.  xxi.  1 ,  we  have  the  same,  in  a  description 
there  of  heaven.  These  passages  rest  on  Isai.  Ixv.  17,  18,  and 
Ixvi.  22,  which  furnish  the  "  promise"  noted  by  Peter.  But  this 
promise  in  Isaiah  alludes  primarily  to  the  Millennium,  as  it  is  con- 
nected with  the  prediction  that  "  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  from 
one  Sabbath  to  another,  all  flesh  (on  earth)  shall  come  and  worship 
before  God."  This  passage  in  Isaiah  then,  had  a  primary  allusion 
to  the  Millennium  ;  but  an  ultimate  one,  to  the  state  of  future  glory. 
And  Peter  and  the  Revelator  note  the  passage  only  as  it  relates  to 
the  latter.  Such  a  mode  of  procedure  is  common  in  prophecy ;  to 
begin  with  the  type,  and  end  with  the  antitype  ;  sliding,  in  the  same 
passage,  from  the  type  to  the  antitype.  See  Psalm  Ixxii.  This 
Psalm  commences  with  a  prayer  for  Solomon,  whose  reign  was 
typical  of  the  Millennium  ;  and  it  slidcb  directly  into  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  in  the  latter.  In  the  eight  last  chapters  of  Ezekiel,  is  a 
description  of  a  city,  and  temple,  and  a  system  of  religion.  This 
(at  least  primarily)  alludes,  no  doubt,  to  the  Millennium.  But  it  is 
believed  to  have  an  ultimate  allusion  to  heaven  ;  and  that  the  de- 
scription of  the  New  Jerusalem,  Rev.  xxi.  and  xxii.,  are  but  an 


CHAPTER    XIX.  36S 

John,  apprehending  the  angel  to  have  been  Christ,  fell 
down  to  worship  him ;  but  his  mistake  was  corrected,  and 
this  argument  added  : — "  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the 
spirit  of  prophecy."  q.  d.  All  the  prophesyings  of  Christ 
are  a  demonstration  of  his  divinity,  that  he  is  one  in  the  in- 
finite God  ;  and  to  him  alone  is  worship  due. 

The  great  final  battle  is  next  given  ;  the  same  event 
with  the  seventh  trumpet,  chap.  xi.  15-19  ; — the  seventh 
vial,  chap.  xvi.  17-21 ; — and  the  harvest  and  vintage, 
chap.  xiv.  14-20.  No  addition,  from  human  comment, 
can  be  given  to  its  glory.  Look,  then,  with  adoration,  on 
the  picture  drawn  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  verse  xi.  to  end. 


abridgment,  and   an  illustration  of  it.     These  remarks  may  ex- 
plain the  case  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  in  our  text.     And  the 
following  may  also  illustrate  it.     The  coming  of  Christ  in  the  bat- 
tle of  the  great  day,  is,  in  some  prophecies,  combined  with  his  coming 
to  judge  the  world.     See  the  following,  given  in  language  borrowed 
from  that  of  the  judgment  day.     In  Dan.  vii.  is  the  great  secular 
Roman  beast,  whose   destruction  introduces   the   Millennium,   as 
clearly  there  appears.     But  his  destruction  (the  very  event   clearly 
with  the  battle  of  the  great  day)  is  here  thus  introduced,  ver.  9-11, 
"  I  beheld  till  the  thrones  were  cast  down,  and  the  Ancient  of  days 
did  sit,  whose  garment  was  white  as  snow,  and  the  hair  of  his  head 
like  pure  wool  :  his  throne  was  like  the  fiery  flame,  and  his  wheels 
as  burning  fire.     A  fiery  stream  issued  and  came  forth  from  before 
him  ;  thousand  thousands  ministered  unto  him,  and  ten  thousand 
times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him  ;  the  judgment  was  set,  and  the 
books  were  openedy     The   fall   of  this  beast   and  popery  (the  very 
event  and  period  in  our  text)  follows,  which  shows  that  it  is  a  scene 
antecedent  to  the  Millennium  ;   "I  beheld  then,  because  of  the  voice 
of  the  great  words  which  the  horn  (popery)  spake,  I   beheld  till  the 
beast  was  slain,  and  his  body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning 
flame."     But  while  this  description  of  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  his 
introduction  of  the  scene,  has  a  primary  fulfilment  in  the  fall  of  this 
beast  of  infidelity,  and  the  fall  of  popery  ;  it  is  to  have  an  ultimate 
one  in  the  great  judgment  day.     We  accordingly  read,  in  Rev,  xx., 
at  the  close  of  the  Xlillennium  (in  allusion  no  doubt   to  this  very 
text  in  Dan.  vii.  9,  10),  "  and  the  books  were  opened."     That   pas- 
sage in  Daniel  then,  will  receive  its  final  accomplishment  in  the 
final  judgment,  when  Christ  takes  the  great  white  throne, — when 
a  fire  devoureth  before  him,  and  it  shall  be  very  tempestuous  round 
about  him  ;   and  the  judgment  will  set,  and  the  book  be  opened  ! 
Such  instances  may  illustrate  the  coming  of  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb,  at  the  opening  of  the  Millennium  ;  while  yet  its  more  glori- 
ous accomplishment  will  be  at  the  opening  of  the  future  glory  of 
the  church.     One  is  type,   the  other  antitype  :  and  the  name  of 
the  latter  is  given  to  the  former,  as  being  a  bright  resemblance  of 
its  fulfilment. 

Hh3 


366  LECTURE  xxxm. 

It  is  a  finishing  touch  to  much  that  we  find  in  the  prophets ; 
such  as  Psalm  xlv.,   "  Gird   thy  sword  upon  thy  thigh," 
&c.     Joel  ii.,  "  The  Lord  shall  utter  his  voice  before  his 
army;  for  his  camp  is  very  great."     "  The  Lord  is  a  man 
of  war  ;    the   Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name."      "  He  rideth 
upon  the  heavens  by  the  name  Jah."     "  He  bowed  the 
heavens,  and  came  down  ;  darkness  was  under  his  feet, 
and  he  did  ride  upon   the  wings  of  the  winds.     See  the 
view  given  of  Christ,  in  the  first  seal,  Rev.  vi.  2 ;  to  which 
the  riding  forth  of  Christ  in  our  text  is  very  similar,  but  is 
a  rich  improvement  in  imagery,  as  this  battle  of  the  great 
day  was  clearly  typified  by  the  destruction  of  the  Jews  in 
that  seal.     The  scene  of  this  riding  forth  of  Jesus  Christ, 
in  our  text,  has  been  so  frequently  brought  to  view  in  the 
preceding  pages,  that  less  needs  here  to  be   said.     His 
white  horse  of  victory,  his  flaming  eye  of  omniscience, 
his  crown  denoting  him  as  the  king  of  kings  ;  his  unknown 
name  of  infinite  divinity, — "  no  man  knows  the  Son  but  the 
Father  ;"  the  bloody  vestments  of  his  works  of  vengeance 
now  on  hand,  his   accompanying  armies  on  white  horses 
of  victory,  denoting  the  church,  and  perhaps  her  guardian 
angels  ; — "  the  mountains  were  full  of  horses,  and  chariots 
of  fire  around  about  Elisha ;"  the  sharp  sword  from  Christ's 
mouth,  indicating  the  fatal  power  of  his  word  against  his 
enemies,  and  his  name  in  capitals  on  his  vesture  and  on 
his  thigh,  as  the  binding  on  of  the  whole  armour !   these 
are  emblems  of  vast  significance  in  the  presentation  of  Jesus 
Christ,  as  riding  forth  to  meet  his  enemies  in  the  battle  of 
that  great  day  of  God,  in  our  text.     The  blood  and  slaugh- 
ter, indicated  by  the  standing  of  an  angel  in  the  sun,  and, 
with  a  loud  voice,  calling  on  all  carnivorous  fowls  to  come 
to  a  great  supper  which  God  would  prepare  for  them, 
will  exceed  every  thing  of  the  kind  ever  before  known. 
This  stroke  rests  on  Ezek.  xxix.  17-20 ;  which  we  may 
view  as  its  parent  text,  inviting  all  beasts   and  fowls  to 
convene  on  the  same  occasion,  to  eat  the  flesh  of  kings 
and  captains,  and  of  vast  slaughter.     That  the  scene  in 
both  is  one  and  the  same,  see  the  subjoined  note.* 

*  That  the  Gog  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  and  xxxix.,  is  the  same  power 
with  the  secular  Roman  beast,  with  his  healed  head,  Rev.  xiii.  3 ; 
and  the  new  beast  of  the  last  days,  Rev.  xvii.  8  (which  are  one  and 
the  same),  is  thought  to  be  evident  firom  the  following  considera- 
tions 


CHAPTER    XIX.  367 

The  remainder  of  the  chapter  of  our  text  is  so  expres- 
sive and  definite,  and  the  subject  has,  in  these  pages,  been 
so  often  noted,  that  little  needs  here  to  be  added.  This  is 
the  great  battle,  which  occupies  a  great  section  of  the 
prophetic  scriptures.  The  following  are  several,  out  of 
scores  of  texts,  which  predict  this  battle,  and  its  result; 
and  may  here  suffice.  "Thus  saiih  the  Lord,  Ah  !  1  will 
ease  me  of  mine  adversaries,  and  avenge  me  of  mine  ene- 


1.  If  this  Gog  be  another  power,  distinct  from  the  last  head  of 
the  Roman  beast ;  then  we  have  in  the  prophecies  a  fifth  notable 
monarchy  upon  the  earth,  contending  with  the  church.  For  Gog 
is  a  most  notable  power,  that  collects  innumerable  hosts  from  at 
least  three-quarters  of  the  world,  in  a  furious  array  against  the 
people  of  God  ;  as  may  be  seen  in  these  chapters  of  Ezekiel.  But 
the  prophecies  admit  of  but  four  such  notable  hostile  monarchies 
before  the  Millennium.  This  is  distinctly  decided  in  the  great 
image,  Dan.  ii. ;  and  the  four  great  beasts,  Dan.  vii.  Such  a  fifth 
power  then,  cannot  be  admitted. 

2.  The  Gog  of  Ezekiel  is  a  power  just  antecedent  to  the  Millen- 
nium. This  is  manifest  in  the  whole  description  of  this  power,  and 
of  his  deeds  in  these  chapters  of  Ezekiel.  Gog  here  attacks  the 
Jews  soon  after  their  return  from  their  long  dispersion.  And  upon 
the  destruction  of  Gog  and  his  bands  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel, 
the  Jews  enter  upon  their  millennial  glory. 

Hence  this  is  a  distinct  power  from  the  Gog  in  Rev.  xx.,  that 
rises  at  the  close  of  the  Millennium.  The  fact  is,  the  latter 
(being  but  an  apostacy  over  the  face  of  the  earth)  derives  his  name 
from  the  latter  ;  being,  in  the  figure,  "  the  rest  of  the  dead,"  or  old 
Antichrist  raised  to  life  again,  and  raised  under  this  distinctive 
name,  in  which  he  goes  into  perdition  just  before  the  Millennium. 

3.  Gog  and  the  last  head  of  the  Roman  beast,  are  the  same  power 
found  described  in  the  ancient  prophets.  The  prophets  unitedly 
present  a  great  wicked  power,  to  be  destroyed  in  the  battle  of  the 
great  day  of  God.  And  we  find  the  same  allusion  is  had  to  these 
ancient  prophecies,  both  in  the  case  of  Gog,  and  of  the  Roman 
beast;  which  shows  them  to  be  the  same.  See  instances  of  this 
fact : — Ezek.  xxxviii.  17,  and  on,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  Art 
thou  he  of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  old  times  by  my  servants  the 
prophets  of  Israel,  who  prophesied  in  those  days  many  years,  that  I 
would  bring  thee  against  them  ]"  Here  we  find  that  Gog  is  not  a 
little  accidental  power,  rising  for  once  in  some  northern  region. 
But  he  is  a  great  and  notable  dynasty,  long  predicted  by  the  pro- 
phets of  Israel  to  come  against  Israel  in  the  last  days.  But  surely 
this  description  applies  only  to  the  Roman  beast.  See  Dan.  ii. 
40-45;  and  vii.  19-26;  and  other  prophets,  which  testify  to  the 
same  event,  of  God's  gathering  the  nations,  and  assembling  the 
kingdoms  (at  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  the  Jews),  as  a  coali- 
tion against  them  in  Palestine.  Turn  to  Joel  iii.  ],  2;  Zeph.  iii. 
8,  9  ;  Zech.  xii.   9,  and  xiv.  2,  &c.  &c.     But  in  the  Revelation 


368  LECTURE  xxxm. 

mies.  The  destruction  of  the  transgressors  shall  be  to- 
gether. The  strong  shall  be  as  tow,  and  the  maker  of  it 
as  a  spark  ;  and  they  shall  both  burn  together,  and  none 
shall  quench  them."  "  He  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the 
rod  of  his  mouth  ;  and  with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he 
slay  the  wicked."  "  Behold,  the  day  of  the  Lord  cometh, 
cruel  both  with  wrath  and  with  fierce  anger ;  to  lay  the 
land  (earthj  desolate,  and  to  destroy  the  sinners  thereof 


we  are  assured  that  all  this  is  fulfilled  by  the  last  head  of  the  secular 
Roman  beast,  as  has  been  shown. 

In  Rev.  X.  7,  where  the  seventh  trumpet  is  spoken  of  (manifestly 
the  same  event  with  the  destruction  of  Gog),  the  event  is  said  to  be 
only  "  as  God  hath  declared  to  his  servants  the  prophets.^^  And  the 
seventh  vial  poured  upon  the  Roman  beast,  Rev.  xvi.  14,  is  only 
"the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty,"  as  a  day  well 
known  in  the  prophets. 

4.  Gog  and  the  last  head  of  the  Roman  beast  are  found  precisely 
alike,  in  arms  against  the  people  of  God,  at  the  same  time  and 
place,  and  both  sink  under  the  same  destruction.  Gog  goes  into 
perdition  in  a  conflict  with  the  Jews  restored  to  Palestine.  See 
Ezekiel  xxxviii.  18,  to  the  end  ;  and  xxxix.  Turn  then  to  Dan- 
iel ii.  34,35;  and  vii.  11,  26,  27;  Rev.  xix.  19-21  ;  and  xvii.  8; 
and  xvi.  10,  to  the  end  ;  and  xiv.  14,  to  the  end  ;  and  you  find  the 
same  destruction,  at  the  same  period,  of  the  last  head  of  the  Roman 
beast.  The  time  and  circumstances  of  this  signal  destruction  de- 
cide that  the  power  then  destroyed,  or  Gog  and  the  Roman  beast, 
must  be  the  same.  Possibly  a  reason  why  the  Roman  beast  should, 
at  last,  be  denominated  Gog,  will  be  better  understood  when  this 
power,  "  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  yet  is,"  shall  again  rise  into  his 
last  and  terrible  destination  ;  especially  should  some  power  of  the 
north  be  found  in  some  kind  of  coalition  with  the  Roman  beast. 
Gog  is  a  natural  abbreviation  of  Magog  ;  and  may  be  understood  as 
the  name  of  a  mighty  dynasty  of  the  descendants  of  Magog,  in  the 
last  days.  Magog  was  a  son  of  Japhet,  and  grandson  of  Noah. 
His  descendants  peopled  ancient  Scythia,  which  lay  east  and  north 
of  the  Euxine  and  Caspian  seas,  north  of  Syria  ;  thence  they  spread 
and  peopled  the  vast  regions  of  Tartary.  They  peopled  the  north 
of  Europe  and  Asia  for  5,000  miles.  "There  can  be  no  doubt 
(says  Guthrie)  that  the  Scandinavians  (inhabitants  of  Denmark, 
Norway,  and  Sweden)  were  by  origin  Scythians."  The  descendants 
of  ancient  Magog,  we  find,  under  the  names  of  Scythians,  Tartars, 
Moguls,  Turks,  Goths,  Vandals,  Huns,  Franks,  and  others,  have 
made  the  most  terrible  ravages  in  the  earth.  Different  tribes  of 
them,  in  the  early  ages,  overran  a  considerable  part  of  Asia  and 
Europe.  Hordes  of  these  northern  barbarians  ravaged  the  kingdoms 
in  the  south  of  Europe,  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  ;  as  was 
shown  under  the  first  four  of  the  apocalyptic  trumpets.  These 
barbarous  tribes  planted  themselves  in  Italy,  France,  Spain,  Hun- 
gary, and  others  of  those  nations,  and  gave  to  some  of  them  their 


CHAPTER    XIX.  369 

out  of  it."  "  The  foundations  of  the  earth  do  shake.  The 
earth  is  utterly  broken  down — is  clean  dissolved.  It  shall 
reel  to  and  fro  like  a  drunkard,  and  shall  be  removed  like 
a  cottage ;  and  it  shall  fall,  and  not  rise  again.  Then 
shall  the  moon  be  confounded,  and  the  sun  ashamed,  when 
the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  reign  in  mount  Zion,  and  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  before  his  ancients  gloriously." 

names ;  as  France,  from  the  Franks.  Those  territories  then,  as 
well  as  regions  in  the  north,  whence  they  came,  may  be  called  Gogj 
the  land  of  Magog.  Gog  is  called  "  the  chief  prince  of  Meshech 
and  Jubal."  These  were  brethren  of  Magog  ;  and  their  descendants 
probably  were  intermingled.  Meshech  peopled  Cappadocia  and  Ar- 
menia, whence  they  sent  colonies  to  the  north,  who  were  called 
Muscovites.  And  Martin  informs,  that  Jubal  was  the  father  of  the 
Russians.  We  have  thus  a  vast  range  in  which  to  search  for  the 
dynasty  of  the  last  days,  called  Gog.  A  power  rising  in  the  south 
of  Europe,  or  away  in  the  north  (the  original  habitation  of  Magog), 
may  equally  answer  to  the  term.  And  should  it  take  place,  that 
both  these  regions  (the  south  and  the  north,)  should  combine ; 
should  some  power  in  the  north  of  Europe  volunteer  his  service  with 
the  Roman  beast,  and  possess  a  leading  influence  in  those  measures 
of  the  last  days  ;  this  might  give  a  new  view  of  the  occasion  why 
the  Roman  beast  should  be  denominated  Gog.  Of  these  events, 
time  will  decide.  But  the  Gog  in  Ezek.  xxxviii.  and  xxxix.,  and 
-the  healed  head  of  the  old  secular  beast,  and  the  beast  from  the 
bottomless  pit,  are  manifestly  the  same. 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 


REVELATION    XX. 


Ver.  1.  And  I  saw  an  angel  comedown  from  hea- 
ven, having  the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  a  great 
chain  in  his  hand. 

2.  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  ser- 
pent, which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  him 
a  thousand  years, 

3.  And  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut 
him  up,  and  set  a  seal  upon  him,  that  he  should  de- 
ceive the  nations  no  more,  till  the  thousand  years 
should  be  fulfilled  :  and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed 
a  little  season. 

4.  And  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and 
judgment  was  given  unto  them  :  and  /  saw  the  souls 
of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus, 
and  for  the  word  of  God,  and  which  had  not  wor- 
shipped the  beast,  neither  his  image,  neither  had 
received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  or  in  their 
hands ;  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a 
thousand  years. 

5.  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until 
the  thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is  the  first 
resurrection. 

6.  Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection :  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no 
power;  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ, 
and  shall  reign  with  him  a  thousand  years. 

7.  And  when  the  thousand  years  are  expired, 
Satan  shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison, 

8.  And  shall  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations  which 
are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog, 


CHAPTER    XX.  371 

to  gather  them  together  to  battle :   the  number  of 
whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea. 

9.  And  they  went  up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth, 
and  compassed  the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the 
beloved  city :  and  fire  came  down  from  God  out  of 
heaven  and  devoured  them. 

10.  And  the  devil  that  deceived  them  was  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where  the  beast 
and  the  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tormented  day 
and  night  for  ever  and  ever. 

11.  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  him  that 
sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven 
fled  away ;  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them. 

12.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and  great,  stand 
before  God  ;  and  the  books  were  opened :  and  an- 
other book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life : 
and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things  which 
were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their  works. 

13.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
it ;  and  death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  them :  and  they  were  judged  every  man 
according  to  their  works. 

14.  And  death  and  hell  were  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire.     This  is  the  second  death. 

15.  And  whosoever  was  not  found  written  in  the 
book  of  life  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 

Another  signal  descent  of  Christ  is  here  given  as  suc- 
ceeding the  battle  of  the  great  day, — to  bind  Satan.  The 
devil,  as  a  strong  man  armed,  has  kept  his  palace  through 
all  heathen  lands,  and  to  a  fatal  degree,  in  all  the  uncon- 
verted of  our  race.  Gentile  sacrifices  are  offered  "  to 
devils,  and  not  to  God."  And,  to  instigate  and  receive 
this  homage,  Satan  has  gone  "  to  and  fro,^^  in  the  earth. 
He  has  wrought  in  the  children  of  disobedience,  and  led 
ihem  captive  at  his  will, — "  according  to  the  course  of  this 
world  ;  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air." 
He  is  hence  called  the  god  of  this  world, — "blinding  the 
eyes  of  men,  and  hiding  the  gospel  from  them."  He  who 
could  paint  on  the  human  imagination  of  Christ  "  the  king- 
doms of  the  world,  and  the  glory  of  them,  in  an  instant  of 


372  LECTURE   XXXIV. 

time,"  can  now  paint  fatally  on  the  imagination  of  sin- 
ners, and  instigate  the  vilest  delusions.  And  he  will  con- 
tinue thus  to  do,  till  the  Saviour, — "  stronger  than  he," 
shall  bind  him,  and  deliver  the  prey  of  the  mighty,  who 
are  then  turned  "  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God."  After 
the  battle  of  the  great  day,  in  which  Satan's  most  warlike 
legions  of  infidelity,  of  popery,  and  of  all  that  was  found 
in  open  actual  hostility  to  the  church,  shall  have  been 
plunged  into  perdition ;  Satan,  who  deceived  and  led  them, 
is  himself  here  noted  as  taken  in  hand  by  Jesus  Christ 
himself,  and  confined.  Philosophical  inquiries  here  are 
vain.  Little  do  we  know  of  the  philosophy  of  the  world 
of  spirits.  Facts  in  the  case  are  all  we  need  to  know. 
These  are  as  follows  :  that  there  are  devils  ; — they  have 
had  fatal  access  to  man ; — have  ruined  the  world  of  the 
wicked  ; — have  peopled  the  world  of  wo  ; — and,  if  permit- 
ted, would  continue  this  work  of  ruin.  But  ife,  who  came 
to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  and  long  since  beheld 
Satan  falling  like  lightning  from  heaven  ; — is  in  the  text 
noted  as  coming  from  above  with  the  "  great  chain"  of  his 
omnipotence,  binding  the  devil, — shutting  him  up, — and 
sealing  him  in  the  bottomless  pit ;  that  for  a  given  time  he 
should  not  go  out  to  deceive  the  nations.  This  is  a  figure, 
but  a  figure  of  great  significance. 

What  is  the  place  rendered  here  the  bottomless  pit? 
The  Greek  original  is  abussos  (abyss).  Let  the  use  of 
the  word,  in  other  sacred  passages,  inform  what  is  its  pro- 
bable sense  in  the  text.  In  Rev.  ix.  2,  the  same  word 
denotes  the  place  unlocked  by  Mohammed,  from  which 
his  delusion,  and  armies  to  propagate  it,  were  furnished ; 
and  we  doubt  not  but  these  were  from  hell.  In  chap.  xi. 
7,  and  xvii.  8,  the  same  word  gives  the  origin  of  the  athe- 
istical system  of  the  last  days  ;  and  we  doubt  not  but  this 
was  from  hell.  In  Luke  viii.  31,  the  devils,  in  the  man 
possessed,  besought  Christ  that  he  would  "  not  command 
them  to  go  out  into  the  deep  !"  What  did  they  mean  here 
by  the  deep  ? — the  word  in  the  original  is  abussos — the 
"word  under  consideration.  They  doubtless  meant,  that 
Christ  would  not  confine  them  from  all  further  access  to  man 
on  earth.  In  our  text  then,  this  is  done  with  the  race  of 
devils ; — the  thing  against  which  those  devils  petitioned 
in  relation  to  themselves.  They  are  confined  from  having 
any  more  access  to  man  on  earth,  to  tempt  and  destroy 


CHAPTER   XX.  373 

them.  Whether  this  will  be  done  by  a  literal  exclusion 
of  them  from  all  access  to  man  ;  or  whether  it  will  be  by 
giving  to  man  such  abundance  of  grace,  and  of  knowledge, 
as  that  Satan's  temptations  will  be  utterly  unavailing,  is 
to  us  immaterial.  Man  will  then  be  safe  from  Satan's 
temptations. 

Thrones,  and  some  seated  upon  them,  our  text  then 
presents. — Not  civil  rulers,  as  some  have  imagined. 
This  is  to  degrade  prophecy,  indeed  !  These  enthroned 
saints  are  all  the  church  ; — all,  on  whom  the  second  death 
hath  no  power.  "  They  live  and  reign  with  Christ  a 
thousand  years."  "  We  shall  reign  on  the  earth."  They 
reign  in  their  government  of  themselves  by  the  Spirit  and 
laws  of  Christ ;  and  their  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his 
spiritual  invisible  government  of  the  world.  And  saints 
in  glory  too,  reign  with  Christ  on  earth,  in  the  same  holy 
fellowship,  and  in  their  new  joys, — to  understand  (as  all 
in  heaven  will  do)  that  the  cause  of  Christ  on  earth,  in 
which  their  hearts  have  so  long  been  bound  up,  now 
universally  prevails.  This  will  be  the  rich  additional 
reward  then  given  to  prophets  and  saints  in  glory  ;  as  Rev. 
xi.  18,  "  and  that  thou  shouldst  give  reward  unto  thy  ser- 
vants the  prophets."  The  rest  of  the  dead  live  not  again 
during  the  Millennium.  These  are  all  the  wicked  of  our 
race,  whose  wicked  cause  is  in  the  Millennium  lost  from 
the  world, — finding  none  on  earth  to  support  it.  The  first 
and  second  resurrection  here,  are  only  mystical  resurrec- 
tions,— like  that  of  Ezekiel's  valley  of  dry  bones.  The 
first  is  that  of  the  souls  of  martyrs ;  including,  at  the 
same  time,  that  of  all  past  saints  ;  and  it  means  the  revi- 
val of  the  cause  in  which  they  lived  and  died.  Those 
saints  live  again  in  their  successors,  who  then  appear  on 
earth,  as  Elijah  lived  again  in  John  the  Baptist, — coming 
in  his  spirit ! — a  figure  much  known  in  the  Bible.  The 
second  resurrection  (implied  in  the  mention  of  a  first 
resurrection)  is  not  to  be  till  the  close  of  the  Millennium, 
when  Satan  is  again  for  a  little  season  loosed.  "  The 
rest  of  the  dead,"  the  wicked,  then,  in  their  turn,  rise 
again  in  their  successors  in  wickedness,  as  will  be  shown. 
The  blessing  ascribed  to  those  who  have  a  part  in  the  first 
resurrection,  viz.  that  the  second  death  has  no  power  upon 
them,  shows  they  are  designed  in  the  figure  to  include  all 
the  chosen  of  God,  then  in  heaven  and  earth ; — that  their 
li 


374  LECTURE    XXXIV. 

cause  had  revived,  and  was  going  to  fill  the  world.  All 
in  glory  will  know  and  rejoice  in  this ;  and  all  on  earth 
will  see  and  enjoy  it. 

Some  writers  have  conjectured  that  Christ  will  come 
and  reign  personally  on  the  earth,  in  the  Millennium. 
This  must  be  incorrect.  His  reign  here  must  be  only 
spiritual.  The  days  of  miracles  are  past:  the  Bible  is 
filled  ;  and  tliey  are  not  needed :  and  Christ  can  reign 
as  effectually  without  miracles,  as  with  them.  He  will 
become  then  king  of  nations,  as  he  now  is  of  saints ; 
reigning  spiritually^  by  his  grace  in  their  hearts ;  and 
providentially^  to  cause  all  things  to  work  for  their  good. 
But,  as  to  any  visible  personal  appearance  of  Christ; 
this  is  never  to  take  place  till  he  comes  to  judgment. 
"Unto  you  that  look  for  him,  shall  he  appear  a  second 
time  (the  first  being  when  he  came  in  the  flesh),  without 
sin  unto  salvation." — "  Whom  the  heavens  must  receive 
until  the  restitution  of  all  things,"  which  is  manifestly  con- 
nected with  the  judgment  of  the  great  and  final  day.  It 
is  a  great  injury  to  the  cause  of  prophecy,  to  write  upon 
it  in  so  loose  and  unguarded  a  manner  as  they  have  done, 
who  hold  to  a  literal  coming  of  Christ;  a  literal  resurrec- 
tion of  the  martyrs  ;  and  some,  that  the  day  of  judgment 
commences  at  the  morning  of  the  Millennium.  "  We  have 
not  so  learned  Christ."  The  absurdity  of  such  ideas  is 
plain:  for  things  eternal  and  things  of  time  are  not  to  be 
blended.  Of  people  on  earth  it  is  said,  "the  just  shall 
live  by  faith."  Imperfect  saints  here  are  not  to  be  blended 
with  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect;  nor  are  the  lat- 
ter (nor  any  of  them)  to  be  raised  to  dwell  again  on  the 
earth. 

Relative  to  the  length  of  the  Millennium,  whether  it  will 
be  a  literal  or  a  mystical  thousand  years  ;  and  if  mystical, 
what  may  be  the  length  of  it ; — I  will  state  some  arguments 
in  favour  of  its  being  a  mystical  thousand  years ;  and  also 
that  it  may  be  an  indefinite  thousand.  The  word  thousand 
is  often  thus  used.  "  A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side, 
and  ten  thousand  at  thy  right  hand."  Repeatedly  is  the 
number  144,000  used  in  this  book,  in  an  indefinite  sense. 
And  it  is  in  the  following,  in  other  scriptures,  "  the  cattle 
upon  a  thousand  hills;"  "  there  shall  be  a  thousand  vines;" 
"  one  shall  chase  a  thousand ;"  "  a  little  one  shall  become  a 
thousand."     As  to  the  length  of  the  Millennium  ;  consider, 


CHAPTER   XX.  375 

1.  This  chapter  is  figurative ;  why,  then,  may  not  the 
thousand  years  of  the  Millennium  be  figurative? 

2.  If  it  be  literal,  there  seems  to  be  an  undue  proportion 
between  the  time  of  the  reign  of  sin,  and  the  reign  of  grace. 
Should  the  former  be  six  times  the  length  of  the  latter,  it 
would  seem  indeed  wonderful.     There  is  generally  found 
a  symmetry  in  the  works  of  God  ; — as  in  the  human  body ; 
the  ancient  temple  ;  and  in  the  works  of  nature.     But  does 
this  principle  admit  the  following  view  of  the  temple  of  the 
redeemed  church  of  God  on  earth?  viz.  that  2000  years 
rolled  away  in  some  rough  and  indefinite  preparations  for 
it,  of  which  very  little  is  found  in  the  inspired  record  of 
this  temple.     After  this,  2000  more  roll  off  in  giving  this 
foundation  a  more  tangible  shape,  and  preparing  the  way 
to  bring  on  the  great  foundation  stone  of  this  ecclesiastical 
temple.      2000  years  more  pass  away,  in  shaping  and 
preparing  the  materials  for  the  building  of  this  temple 
itself.     At  the  close  of  these  6000  years,  the  temple  is 
raised,  and  presented  to  the  world.     Now,  does  a  due  pro- 
portion of  things  admit,  that  the  temple  thus  prepared  shall 
stand  but  1000  years? — one-sixth  part  of  the  time  taken 
up  to  lay  its  foundation,  and  form  some  of  its  materials? 
Can  this  accord  with  the  divine  economy  in  general  ?   Do 
wise  human  architects   build    thus?     Do  they  lay  their 
superb  and  costly  foundation  six  times  as  high  as  their 
superstructure  upon  it  ?    The  Revelation  gives  us  the  new 
Jerusalem  ;  and  the  symmetry  of  its  parts  are  such  as  to 
be  worthy  of  the  pencil  of  Heaven.     But  how  different 
from  this  would  it  appear,  if  we  found  the  following  ; — that 
such  was  the  width  of  each  of  the  twelve  gems    com- 
posing the  foundation  of  its  walls,  that  the  twelve  should 
form  six-sevenths  of  the  whole  height  of  the  walls,  of 
1500  miles?     No  width  of  these  twelve  gems  is  given; 
had  it  been,  we  presume  it  would  be  in  due  proportion  to 
the  height  of  the  walls.     But  divine  and  not  human  wis- 
dom is  to  be  here  our  only  guide.     Therefore, 

3.  Some  hints  in  Psalm  xxxvii.  and  other  scriptures, 
seem  not  to  admit  a  literal  thousand  years  of  the  Millen- 
nium. "  Yet  a  liule  while  and  the  wicked  shall  not  be; 
but  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth,  and  shall  delight 
themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace."  "  Blessed  are 
the  meek ;  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth."  "  In  his  days, 
(the  days  of  Christ  in  the  Millennium)  shall  the  righteous 


376  LECTURE    XXXIV. 

flourish  ;  and  abundance  of  peace  so  long  as  the  moon 
endureth." — "His  name  shall  endure  for  ever  (to  the  end 
of  the  world,  which  shall  be  a  comparative  for  ever)  ;  his 
name  shall  be  continued  as  long  as  the  sun ;  and  men 
shall  be  blessed  in  him ;  all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed." 
This  is  when  "  the  earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  glory." 
Read  Dan.  vii.  14,  20-27.  We  here  find,  that  the  reign 
of  Christ  is  long,  compared  with  that  of  popery,  though 
this  is  1260  years.  It  is  promised  that  when  "  all  people, 
nations,  and  languages  shall  serve  him  ;"  "  his  dominion  is 
an  everlasting  dominion ;"  necessarily  meaning  compara- 
tively so.  It  is  (as  Psalm  Ixxii.)  "as  long  as  the  sun  !" 
"  And  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  the  greatness  of  tlie 
kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven  shall  be  given  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an 
everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominion  shall  serve  and  obey 
him."  The  everlasting  here  is,  in  its  subject,  confined 
to  be  only  "  so  long  as  the  sun,"  and  "  so  long  as  the  moon 
endureth."  (Psalm  Ixxii.  7,  17.)  Other  scriptures  speak 
of  those  heavenly  bodies  as  enduring,  till  they  shall  wax 
old  as  doth  a  garment ;  and  as  a  worn-out  vesture,  shall 
be  folded  together,  and  laid  aside  !  This  is  a  figure  ;  but 
must  possess  great  meaning  relative  to  the  age  of  the 
natural  world.  Can  a  literal  thousand  years  give  it  such 
an  age  ? 

4.  A  literal  thousand  years  seem  not  well  to  accord 
with  the  greater  number  of  fallen  man  saved,  than  lost,  at 
the  end  of  the  world.  The  Bible  "aZ/"  often  means  by  far 
the  greater  part.  Christ  says,  "  I  will  draw  aJl  men  unto 
me" — "  Who  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  We  know  this  means  not  a 
literal  all.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  men  have,  hitherto, 
been  lost.  "Straight  is  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  life, 
and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  In  the  Millennium,  all  shall 
find  it.  But  could  a  literal  thousand  years  give  a  number 
to  the  human  family  which  shall  so  far  exceed  all  who  are 
lost?  The  saved,  in  that  day,  are  noted.  Psalm  ex.,  as 
exceeding  the  drops  of  a  morning  dew.  Old  Babylon, 
(15  miles  square)  is  an  emblem  of  the  kingdom  of  Satan ; 
and  the  New  Jerusalem  (Rev.  xxi.)  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  The  dimensions  of  the  latter  are  given  (as  those 
of  the  former  are  known) ;  and  they  are  1500  miles  cube  ; 
"  the  length,  breadth,  and  height  being  equal."     What  is 


CHAPTER    XX.  377 

the  proportion  between  these  two  cities  ? — ten  thousand  to 
one,  if  you  take  only  the  square  of  the  New  Jerusalem : 
if  the  cube  (which  is  in  fact  given),  fifteen  millions  to  a 
unit !  Wonderful  grace,  if  fifteen  millions,  to  one  soul  of 
the  fallen  human  family,  shall  be  saved  !  But  a  literal 
thousand  years  of  the  Millennium  would  seem  incapable 
of  yielding  such  a  number. 

5.  Our  Saviour  speaks  of  his  not  knowing  the  time  of 
the  judgment  day.  There  must,  then,  be  a  sense  in  which 
he  knows  it  not.  But  as  God,  he  knows  it,  and  knows 
all  things.  The  sense  then  must  be,  he  knows  it  not  as 
Mediator,  to  reveal  it  to  man;  and  hence  has  never  re- 
vealed it.  He  says  of  the  reprobate,  "  I  know  you  not !" 
He  knows  them  to  bring  them  into  judgment ;  but  knows 
them  not  as  his  people.  "  Whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  did 
also  predestinate,"  &lc.  The  time  of  the  day  of  judgment 
then,  has  never  been  revealed  to  man.  But  if  it  were  to 
be  at  the  close  of  a  literal  seventh  thousand  years,  then 
it  is  revealed ;  and  it  might  then  be  said  to  the  saints,  of 
the  day  of  judgment,  as  it  is  of  ihe  time  of  the  destruction 
of  Antichrist,  "Ye  are  not  in  darkness,  that  that  day  should 
overtake  you  as  a  thief."  The  time  of  that  period  is 
revealed  :  see  Lecture  on  Rev.  xiii,  last.  For  these 
reasons,  some  believe  that  the  Millennium  will  continue 
an  indefinite  number  of  millennaries.  All  may  form  their 
own  opinions  upon  what  is  divinely  taught.  The  analogy 
of  the  natural  week  hints  the  lime  of  the  opening  of  the 
Millennium  to  be  the  opening  of  the  seventh  thousand 
years ;  yet  God  may  take  the  liberty  to  lengthen  out  this 
Millennial  sabbaih  to  any  extent  he  may  please.  Nothing 
in  the  analogy  of  things,  nor  in  the  Bible,  it  is  believed, 
forbids  that  he  will  do  it.  A  natural  day  was  lengthened 
in  the  days  of  Joshua;  and  an  analogical  sabbath  of  the 
Millennium  may  be  lengtliened  to  ever  so  great  an  unre- 
vealed  number  of  millennaries  of  years. 

Near  the  close  of  the  Millennium,  Satan  will  be  loosed, 
to  go  out  again  to  deceive  the  nations ;  and  a  general 
apostacy  over  the  world  will  take  place;  not  a  falling  of 
any  soul  from  true  grace,  but  the  falling  of  the  world  of 
people  unconverted  from  the  doctrines  of  grace.  Tiie 
apostacy  will  be  sudden ;  and  malignant  in  proportion  to 
the  light  before  enjoyed.  Regenerating  grace  alone  forms 
true  Christians  even  in  the  Millennium.  And  when  saving 
Ii2 


378  LECTURE    XXXIV. 

grace  is  withholden  (as  it  then  will  be),  tlie  enmity  of  the 
natural  heart  will  not  only  continue,  but  will  burst  forth  in 
rage,  in  proportion  to  all  the  antecedent  wonders  of  grace  ; 
and  the  world  will  soon  be  filled  with  violence,  and  a  full 
and  systematic  design  to  banish  the  cause  of  Christ  from 
the  earth.  Glance  an  eye  over  verse  7-9  of  our  text,  and 
this  will  be  seen.  Now  the  rest  of  the  dead  live  again; 
now  is  a  second  mystical  resurrection.  Or,  the  cause  of 
the  wicked  (long  lost  from  the  earth)  now  again  lives. 
Accordingly,  the  countless  millions  of  this  apostacy  are 
called  ^^  Gog  and  Magog;'''' — names  under  which  Anti- 
christ, before  the  Millennium,  went  into  perdition  ;  and  the 
figure  "of  the  rest  of  the  dead  living  again,"  now  applies 
to  the  apostate  world  of  the  wicked,  this  old  name  of 
Antichrist.  In  the  figure,  the  Gog  of  Ezekiel  xxxviii. 
xxxix.,  rises  again,  and  fills  the  world  for  the  last  furi- 
ous attack  of  Satan  on  the  church.  This  soon  brings 
forward  the  judgment  day.  As  the  attack  of  Antichrist 
upon  the  witnesses,  before  the  Millennium,  soon  brings 
down  tlie  Saviour  upon  his  white  cloud,  with  his  sharp 
sickle  (Rev.  xiv.) ;  so  the  final  and  great  antitype  of  this 
transaction,  after  the  Millennium,  soon  presents  Christ,  as 
the  final  judge,  upon  his  great  white  throne  of  judgment ! 
The  falling  of  fire  from  heaven,  devouring  this  Gog 
and  Magog,  is  a  figure ;  and  is  probably  in  allusion  to 
what  is  said  of  the  witnesses,  chap.  xi.  5,  6;  "If  any 
man  will  hurt  them,  fire  proceedeth  out  of  their  mouth, 
and  devoureth  their  enemies,"  &c.  And  both  may  allude 
to  Elijah's  calling  fire  from  heaven  to  destroy  the  captains 
with  their  fifties,  sent  by  Ahab  to  take  him.  But  what 
immediately  follows  in  the  text  explains  this  ;  for  the  final 
judgment  bursts  upon  the  world,  "  sudden  as  the  spark 
from  the  smitten  steel, — from  nitrous  grain,  the  blaze." 
Now  will  Satan's  millions  find  other  employment,  than 
*'  going  up  upon  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  to  compass  the 
saints  about  and  the  beloved  city"  (the  church),  to  drive 
it  from  the  world.  "  In  an  instant,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  the  trump  shall  sound,  the  dead  shall  be  raised,  and 
the  living  changed  from  a  natural  to  a  spiritual  body."  The 
last  judgment  is  now  set,  and  the  books  are  opened.  The 
Bible  descriptions  of  these  scenes  are  many,  and  most  in- 
teresting ;  but  need  not  to  be  here  adduced.  0,  remember 
them,  and  look  for,  and  haste  unto  the  coming  of  the  day 


CHAPTER    XX.  379 

of  God."  The  opening  of  books,  in  llie  text,  alludes  to  hu- 
man courts,  where  books  of  law  and  evidence  are  opened. 
The  books  in  the  text  are  figurative ;  we  may  view  them 
to  be  the  book  of  the  divine  omniscience  ; — the  book  of  the 
perfect  history  of  the  heart  and  life  of  every  child  of  Adam; 
the  book  of  human  memory,  to  recollect  every  fact ;  the 
book  of  revelation,  to  all  who  have  lived  under  it;  and  the 
book  of  the  light  of  nature,  to  all  who  have  not;  the  book 
of  conscience,  to  feel  the  whole  subject,  and  the  weight  of 
guilt,  in  all  on  the  left  hand  ;  the  book  of  correct  common 
sense,  to  show  how  men  have  estimated  the  conduct  of 
each  other ;  and  the  book  of  grace,  and  of  life,  to  all  on  the 
right  hand,  to  show  them  that  are  renewed,  penitent,  justi- 
fied, and  saved  in  Christ,  according  to  the  covenant  of  re- 
demption. The  closing  of  the  scene  will  follow,  which 
many  scriptures  clearly  ascertain.  "  What  manner  of  per- 
sons then,  ought  we  to  be,  in  all  holy  conversation  and 
godliness?"  Christians,  awake,  and  trim  your  lamps. 
And,  0  sinners,  prepare  to  meet  your  God. 

Some  remarks  relative  to  the  Millennium,  and  the  agency 
of  its  introduction  will  here  be  added.  Prophecy  and  the 
reason  of  the  thing  unitedly  testify  that  such  a  state  of 
things  as  the  Millennium  would  certainly  bless  the  world. 
And  the  promises  of  it  occupy  no  inconsiderable  space  of 
the  prophetic  scriptures  ;  that  in  the  seed  of  Abraham 
(Christ)  shall  all  nations,  and  all  families  of  the  earth,  be 
blessed.  "  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed, 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together."  "  He  (Christ)  shall 
come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  as  showers 
that  water  the  earth.  He  shall  have  dominion  also  from 
sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 
"  For  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
as  the  waters  cover  the  seas."  The  prophecies  all  unite 
in  this,  and  the  most  rapturous  things  are  said  in  descrip- 
tion of  the  event.  "  Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee, 
O  city  of  God  ;" — the  church  of  that  day  !  A  feast  of  fat 
things  is  made  to  all  nations.  And  in  the  numerous  pre- 
dictions of  the  certainty  of  that  long  and  glorious  day, 
many  particulars  of  its  glories  are  given. 

True  religion  will  then  produce  its  proper  effects  in  the 
hearts  and  lives  of  all  men.  Each  person  in  the  infinite 
Three  in  heaven  will  be  glorified,  by  being  received,  obeyed, 
and  adored  in  his  united  godhead,  and  in  his  official  dis- 


380  LECTURE    XXXIT. 

tinction.  This  will  bring  a  day  of  salvation  to  all  men. 
No  countless  throngs  to  crowd  the  way  to  hell,  and  tor- 
ture thus  the  tender  gracious  heart :  but  all  unite  to  prize 
the  great  salvation.  Great  unanimity  will  bless  the  world. 
Wars  cease,  and  scenes  of  blood  are  known  no  more. 
The  promises  of  this  are  direct  and  unequivocal,  and  are 
illustrated  by  the  figure  of  the  most  perfect  harmony  of  all 
the  most  furious  and  dangerous  animals,  with  those  the 
most  defenceless  and  peaceable ;  and  by  the  burning  of 
all  implements  of  war,  or  of  the  conversion  of  them  to 
implements  of  agriculture.  "  The  watchmen  shall  see 
eye  to  eye ;"  "  all  shall  serve  the  Lord  with  one  consent," 
"  and  shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abundance  of  peace." 
Health  and  longevity  are  promised  too,  among  the  bless- 
ings Heaven  will  richly  give  to  men  on  earth.  The  laws 
of  jurisprudence  will  be  happy.  All  the  concerns  of  civil 
government  will  rest,  exclusively,  in  Christian  hands, 
wholly  subordinate  to  pure  religion.  "  Kings  shall  be 
thy  nursing  fathers,  and  queens  thy  nursing  mothers."  "I 
will  make  thine  officers  peace,  and  thine  exacters  right- 
eousness." "  And  wisdom  and  knowledge  shall  be  the 
stability  of  thy  times."  Yes,  knowledge  will  be  great,  and 
fill  the  world  ; — knowledge  of  the  word  of  God,  and  of  all 
things  useful,  ornamental,  and  delightful  ;  and  promised 
in  the  richest  figures,  as  the  following  ;—"  the  light  of  the 
moon  shall  become  as  the  light  of  the  sun  ;  and  the  light 
of  the  sun  seven-fold,  as  the  light  of  seven  days."  Also 
benevolence  and  holy  friendship — the  bliss  of  heaven, 
shall  glow,  the  world  around  ; — a  holy  earnest  of  eternal 
glory.  The  golden  rule,  a  rule  ever  at  hand,  will  guide 
the  heart,  the  lip,  the  lives  of  all  men.  Great  spiritual 
enjoyment  will  be  found  attendant  on  all  rounds  of 
Christian  duties.  "  With  joy  shall  ye  draw  water  from 
the  wells  of  salvation."  Man  now  will  know  the  solid 
happiness  of  that  feast  of  fat  things  in  the  church,  promised 
to  be  made  for  all  nations.  Characters  will  then  be  seen 
and  held  in  proper  estimation  ;  and  no  more  will  man 
bless  the  covetous  whom  the  Lord  abhorreth,  nor  the 
churl  be  called  liberal.  "  And  they  shall  go  forth  and 
look  upon  the  men  who  have  transgressed  (all  antichris- 
tian  multitudes) ;  and  they  shall  be  an  abhorring  unto  all 
flesh."  Most  happy  period  !  a  great  result  of  all  God's 
works  below  in  every  age.     On  this  his  eye  has  rested, 


CHAPTER    XX.  381 

from  the  first,  as  an  event  next  to  his  heavenly  kingdom. 
The  means  of  the  introduction  of  the  Millennium  are  to 
be  prayer,  contributions,  and  combined  Christian  influ- 
ence. The  three  first  petitions  of  the  Lord's  prayer  rest 
wpon  it.  And  Inspiration  adds,  "  Ye  tliat  make  mention 
of  the  Lord,  keep  not  silence,  and  give  him  no  rest,  till  he 
establish,  and  till  he  make  Jerusalem  (the  church)  a 
praise  in  the  earth."  Of  the  time  just  antecedent  to  the 
Millennium,  it  is  said,  "they  shall  call  everyone  his  neigh- 
bour under  the  vine  and  under  the  fio-tree  ;"  places  for 
prayer,  which  must  and  will  be  attended  with  due  donations, 
and  mutual  exertions,  coming  to  this  "help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty."  "  Till  every  one  submit  himself 
with  pieces  of  silver."  "  Bring  all  the  tithes  into  my 
house." 

But  a  question  arises,  who,  after  the  battle  of  the  great 
day,  is  to  have  the  most  prominent  agency  in  the  bring- 
ing in  of  the  nations  then  still  unconverted  1  For  a  large 
remnant  of  such,  it  will  be  found,  will  still  remain  after  all 
that  shall  have  been  done  by  the  flight  of  the  angel  of 
missions  before  the  battle  of  the  great  day.  And  I  am  led 
to  think  that  this  honour  is  reserved  for  the  ancient  people 
of  God.  Paul  teaches,  (Rom.  xi.)  that  the  restoration  of 
the  Jews  shall  be  "the  riches  of  the  gentiles  ;"  "life  from 
the  dead"  to  them.  It  would  seem  that  the  converted 
Jews  would  be  the  most  popular  and  powerful  missiona- 
ries, after  the  fall  of  Antichrist,  for  the  conversion  of  the  re- 
maining part  of  the  world.  The  converted  Jews,  taking  a 
pre-eminent  stand  in  the  churchof  Christ,  might  be  expect- 
ed to  burn  with  a  holy  zeal,  to  promote  that  cause  of  their 
Messiah,  which  they  have  so  long  trampled  under  foot. 
And  beholding  the  millions,  through  the  earth,  dead  in 
paganism,  they  would  greatly  desire  their  conversion,  and 
make  every  arrangement  to  eff'ect  it.  And,  having  a  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  nations  where  they  have  re- 
sided ;  what  could  be  more  natural,  than  that  they  should 
set  off,  as  missionaries,  for  their  conversion  ?  But  human 
conjectures  may  be  incorrect.  To  the  law  and  the  testi- 
mony we  will  repair.  Of  that  very  period  it  is  predicted, 
Zech.  viii.  23 ;  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  those 
days  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  ten  men  shall  take  hold, 
out  of  all  languages  of  the  nations,  even  shall  take  hold  of 
the  skirt  of  him  that  is  a  Jew,  saying,  we  will  go  witli 


382  LECTURE    XXXIV. 

you,  for  we  have  heard  that  God  is  with  you."     The  won- 
derful works  of  God,  at  that  day,  towards  the  Jews,  will 
fly  over  the  world,  and  prepare  the  way  for  tliis  event. 
Inspiration  here  is  speaking  not  of  convened  gentiles  under 
the  name  of  Jews;  but  of  Jews   in  distinction  from  the 
gentiles  ;  as  was  Paul  in  Rom.  xi.     In  Hosea  ii.  the  re- 
stored Jews,  in  the  last  days,  have  a  new  name  given 
them, — Jezreel,  the  seed  of  God  :    "  for  (God  says)  I  will 
sow  her  unto  me  in  the   earth."     God  will  now  sow  the 
field  of  the  unconverted  world  with  his  seed,  the  converted 
sons  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  for  the  harvest  of  the 
Millennium  ;    and  now,  those  gentiles  who  had  not  ob- 
tained mercy,  shall  obtain  it,  shall   say,  "  Thou  art  my 
God  ;"  and  God  will  say  unto  them,  "  Thou  art  my  peo- 
ple."    God  says  again,  of  converted  Judah  and  Ephraim, 
Zech.  X.,  "I  will  sow  them  among  the   people,  and  they 
(among  whom  they  are  sown),  shall  remember  me  in  far 
countries,   and  shall   live.     The  angel  of  missions,  ante- 
cedent to   the  battle  of  the  great  day,  is  the  incipient 
step    of  all  this,  by  lighting  up  gospel  fires  in  every 
land,    as   has   been    shown   on   Rev.    xiv,    6,    7 ;    and 
preparing  the  way  of  the  recovery  of  the  Jews.     But  the 
Jews  being  thus  prepared,  seem  to  be  destined  to  take  the 
lead  in  the  completion  of  the  work,  though  not  (we  may 
presume),  to  the  exclusion  of  gentile  missionaries.     The 
same  is  predicted   in  Isaiah  ii.  3;    which  was  fulfilled 
primarily  in  the  apostles  ;  but  is  to  be  ultimately  fulfil- 
led,  when,  as  is  there  stated,  the  nations  shall  utterly 
cease  from  war  ;  "  Out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and 
the  word  of  God  from  Jerusalem."     The  word  of  God  first 
went  from  Jerusalem  to  the  heathen;  then  in  the  last  days 
it  is  repaid ;  and  then  it  goes  forth   again  after  the  battle 
of  the  great  day,  to  the  remnant  of  the  heathen  world. 
We  have  the  same  in  Zech.  xiv.  8 ;  and  in  Ezek.  xlvii.,in 
the  stream  of  grace  which  finishes  the   healing  and  con- 
version of  the  world.     The  converted  Jews,  knowing  the 
languages,  and  manners  of  the  heathen,  among  whom  they 
have   lived,  will  be  the  most  fit  missionaries  for  the  con- 
version of  the  residue  of  men,  after  the  battle  of  the  great 
day.     An   emblem  of  all   this  we  have  in  Acts  ii.  5,  in 
the  history  of  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  "  There  were,  dwell- 
ing at  Jerusalem,  devout  menoutof  every  nation."  Thirteen 
nations  are  named  besides  Judea.     These  were  among 


CHAPTER    XXI.  383 

the  3000  converts  of  that  day.  And  their  signal  aid  in  the 
introduction  of  the  gospel  among  those  nations,  when  they 
should  return  home  and  rehile  the  wonders  they  had  seen 
and  feh.,  and  shouhl  welcome  the  missions  of  the  apostles 
among  them,  may  prove  but  a  type  and  earnest  of 
missions  of  the  Jews  to  introduce  the  Millennium,  after 
the  battle  of  the  great  day,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews. 


LECTURE    XXXV. 


REVELATION    XXI. 

Ver.  1.  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth : 
for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed 
away  ;  and  there  was  no  more  sea. 

2.  And  1  John  saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem, 
coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a 
bride  adorned  for  her  husband, 

3.  And  1  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven,  say- 
ing. Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and 
he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his  people, 
and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their 
God. 

4.  And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their 
eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sor- 
row, nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain: 
for  the  former  things  are  passed  away. 

5.  And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said.  Behold, 
I  make  all  things  new.  And  he  said  unto  me. 
Write  :  for  these  words  are  true  and  faithful. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  me,  it  is  done.  1  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end.  I  will  give 
unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the  fountain  of  the  water 
of  life  freely. 


384  LECTURE    XXXV. 

7.  He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things  ;  and 
I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son. 

8.  But  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  and  the  abo- 
minable, and  murderers,  and  whoremongers,  and  sor- 
cerers, and  idolaters,  and  all  liars,  shall  have  their 
part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone :  which  is  the  second  death. 

9.  And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven  an- 
gels which  had  the  seven  vials  full  of  the  seven  last 
plagues,  and  talked  with  me,  saying.  Come  hither,  I 
will  show  thee  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife. 

10.  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great 
and  high  mountain,  and  showed  me  that  great  city, 
the  holy  Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from 
God, 

11.  Having  the  glory  of  God  :  and  her  light  was 
like  unto  a  stone  most  precious,  even  like  a  jasper 
stone,  clear  as  crystal ; 

12.  And  had  a  wall  great  and  high,  and  had  twelve 
gates,  and  at  the  gates  twelve  angels,  and  names 
written  thereon,  which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

13.  On  the  east  three  gates ;  on  the  north  three 
gates ;  on  the  south  three  gates  ;  and  on  the  west 
three  gates. 

14.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  founda- 
tions, and  in  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 
of  the  Lamb. 

15.  And  he  that  talked  with  me  had  a  golden  reed 
to  measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and  the 
wall  thereof 

16.  And  the  city  lieth  four-square,  and  the  length 
is  as  large  as  the  breadth:  and  he  [measured  the 
city  with  the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs.  The 
length  and  the  breadth  and  the  height  of  it  are  equal. 

17.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof,  an  hun- 
dred and  forty  and  four  cubits,  according  to  the 
measure  of  a  man,  that  is,  of  the  angel. 

18.  And  the  building  of  the  wall  of  it  was  q/"  jas- 
per :  and  the  city  was  pure  gold,  like  unto  clear  glass- 


CHAPTER  XXI.  385 

19.  And  the  foundations  of  the  wall  of  the  city 
were  garnished  with  all  manner  of  precious  stones. 
The  first  foundation  was  jasper :  the  second,  sap- 
pire ;  the  third,  a  chalcedony :  the  fourth,  an  eme- 
rald ; 

20.  The  fifth,  sardonyx;  the  sixth,  sardius;  the 
seventh,  chrysolite ;  the  eighth,  beryl ;  the  ninth,  a 
topaz :  the  tenth,  a  chrysoprasus ;  the  eleventh,  a 
jacinth ;  the  twelfth,  an  amethyst. 

21.  And  the  twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls  : 
every  several  gate  was  of  one  pearl :  and  the  street 
of  the  city  loas  pure  gold,  as  it  were  transparent 
glass. 

22.  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein,  for  the  Lord 
God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it. 

23.  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither 
of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  did 
lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  Light  thereof. 

24.  And  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved 
shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it :  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honour  into  it. 

25.  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by 
day :  for  there  shall  be  no  night  there. 

26.  And  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  honour  of 
the  nations  into  it. 

27.  And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  any- 
thing that  defileth, neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomi- 
nation, or  maketh  a  lie :  but  they  which  are  written 
in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 

A  figurative  description  of  heaven,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  closes  this  book.  No  literal  language  can  give  to 
mortal  man  a  view  of  that  world.  Paul,  in  his  vision  of  it, 
heard  things  which  on  earth  could  not  be  uttered.  "  How 
shall  ye  believe,  if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things  ?"  "  Eye 
hath  not  seen,nor  ear  heard."  Heaven,  then,  must  be  told 
to  us  in  figures,  or  not  at  all.  The  essential  Spirit  of  Hea- 
ven,— holy  love, — may  be  here  known :  "  God  hath 
revealed  it  unto  us  ;"  but  nothing  more.  "  We  know  not 
what  we  shall  be."  Wise  parents  converse  with  children 
in  the  language  of  children.  A  new  heaven  and  new  earth 
Kk 


386  LECTURE    XXXV. 

closes  the  history  of  the  church  found  in  the  Revelation, 
The  earth  and  its  visible  heavens  form  the  abode  of  man 
in  this  life.  And  the  figurative  view  of  the  abode  of  the 
saints,  in  the  world  to  come,  is  given  under  the  same 
name,  but  with  the  word  new  prefixed.  In  that  world  the 
text  assures  there  is  no  more  sea.  The  sea  is  an  em- 
blem of  troubles  in  this  life.  And  "  the  wicked  are  like  a 
troubled  sea."  But  in  heaven  "  there  is  no  more  sea." 
The  voyage  over  the  sea  of  life  is  finished,  and  the  port, 
the  haven  of  glory,  made  for  ever. 

A  new  Jerusalem  is  in  our  text  also  given, — a  new 
figure  of  glory.  Jerusalem  was  a  type  of  the  church,  and 
of  heaven.  "  Jerusalem  which  is  above,  is  the  mother  of 
us  all."  This  Jerusalem  above,  John  saw  descending  out 
of  heaven,  adorned  as  a  bride  for  her  husband.  John 
notes  this  city  by  anticipation,  in  verse  2,  but  gives  a  more 
formal  view  of  it  in  verse  10.  This  first  hint  of  it  is  ac- 
companied with  an  assurance  from  heaven  that  the  taber- 
nacle of  God  is  with  man ;  not  that  heaven  has  come 
down  to  earth,  as  some  imagine ;  but  that  the  saints  are 
raised  to  God  in  heaven.  We  are  elsewhere  more  liter- 
ally assured  of  the  righteous  being  caught  up  in  the 
clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air.  "  The  righteous  (go 
away)  into  life  eternal."  There  are  their  mansions  pre- 
pared. "  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you  :  and  if  I  go, 
I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself." 

Their  dwelling  then  will  be  with  God  on  high;  their 
tears  he  will  wipe  away,  and  every  wo.  All  pains  and  ills 
henceforth  will  cease  for  ever,  and  their  remembrance  will 
but  heighten  heaven.  All  who  obtain  the  place  are  said 
to  overcome.  They  have  a  race  to  run,  a  battle  to  fight; 
or  the  crown  is  lost.  "  The  fearful"  head  the  blackest 
catalogue.  Not  those  who  fear  their  sins,  and  wicked 
hearts :  but  those  who  fear  the  cross, — who  basely  fear 
to  take  their  lot  with  Christ,  to  plead  his  cause  ! — "  shall 
have  their  part  in  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  which  is 
the  second  death."  Hell  is  the  second  death,  the  king  of 
terrors. 

A  detailed  accountof  the  new  Jerusalem  follows,  and  its 
figurative  descriptions  need  but  little  comment.  Its  de- 
scriptions are  rich,  and  worthy  of  the  pencil  of  Inspiration. 
Let  the  reader  with  solemn  devotion  find  in  them  the  city 
of  our  God.     Truly  it  is  worthy  of  the  name,  "  the  Lord  is 


CHAPTER   XXI.  i  387 

there."  John  beheld  its  descent  as  he  stood  upon  a  high 
mountain,  to  see  it  to  advantage.  He  hears  it  called, 
"the  bride,  the  Lamb's  wife!"  It  involves  the  church, 
and  all  her  heavenly  accommodations  ;  and  now  arrives 
the  true  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb,  of  which  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Millennium  was  but  a  faint  type.  God, 
who  made  the  sun,  and  all  the  worlds  of  light,  is  himself 
the  immediate  light  of  this  city.  Its  massy  walls  are  of 
the  richest  gems.  Heaven  will  be  walled  with  all  the 
divine  perfections. 

A  measure  (usually  of  reed,  but  in  the  present  case  of 
gold)  gives  the  dimensions  of  this  heavenly  place.  The 
city  is  fifteen  hundred  miles  cube  :  its  length,  breadth,  and 
height  are  the  same.  Its  walls  are  of  216  feet  thickness  ; 
1500  miks  high,  as  well  as  the  same  in  length  and 
breadth.  Why  are  these  dimensions  given?  Do  they 
suggest  to  us,  as  has  been  noted,  the  greater  number  of 
the  saved,  than  lost,  when  the  last  day  shall  settle  the  ac- 
count? Babylon  (of  15  miles  square)  was  a  symbol  of 
the  kingdom  of  darkness  ;  and  the  new  Jerusalem  a  sym- 
bol of  the  church  in  glory.  The  latter,  squared,  contains 
10,000  of  the  former,— cubed,  15,000,000.  Wonderful 
display  of  grace,  if  15,000,000,  or  even  10,000,  arrive  at 
heaven,  to  one  who  sinks  to  hell.  By  far  the  greater  part, 
no  doubt,  have  hitherto  been  lost.  But  in  the  Millennium, 
all  shall  know  the  Lord ;  a  little  one  shall  become  a  thou- 
sand, and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation.  Christ  will  then 
have  the  dew  of  his  youth  indeed  ! 

The  magnificence  of  this  city  demands  attention.  Its 
massy  walls  appear  of  solid  diamond,  except  some  various 
gems  at  their  foundation.*  We  find  there  the  following: 
the  first  laying  (the  same  with  the  mass  of  the  walls  above 

*  Grotius  pleads,  and  with  full  reason,  that  the  gem  called  here, 
in  Greek,  iaspis,  must  have  been  the  diamond.  laspis  might 
in  latter  ages  come  to  be  given  to  the  mean  kind  of  gem  which  now 
bears  this  name.  But  this  gem  in  the  Revelation,  called  iaspis,  is 
expressly  there  called  "  a  stone  most  precious,"  "  (jlear  as  crystal," 
verse  11  of  text.  As  the  "  most  precious  stone,"  here,  it  is  taken 
to  denote  the  glory  of  God,  as  the  light  of  this  city.  The  modern 
jasper,  *'  an  opaque  mass,  debased  with  a  mixture  of  earth,"  an- 
swers not  at  all  to  this  description  ;  but  the  diamond  accords  with  it. 
In  Rev.  iv.  3,  the  iaspis  is  taken  to  represent  God  in  heaven,  in  his 
appearance  to  John.  Would  not  the  purest  gem  be  taken  in  such 
a  case,  and  not  one   of  the  meanest  1  If  the  iaspis,  known  in  this 


388  LECTURE    XXXV. 

the  foundation),  is  iaspis,  diamond.  The  second,  a  sap- 
phire ;  a  gem  transparent,  of  pure  blue,  and  some  of  deep 
azure,  second  in  vahie  to  the  diamond,  and  the  second 
gem  in  the  breast-plate  of  old.  The  third,  a  chalcedonia ; 
a  precious  gem,  of  a  misty  gray,  clouded  with  blue, 
yellow,  and  purple.  The  fourth,  an  emerald,  of  deep 
green,  and  very  hard.  The  fifth,  a  sardonyx,  partly  trans- 
parent with  belts  and  veins  of  different  colours  ;  the 
eleventh  stone  in  the  breast-plate.  The  sixth,  a  sardius, 
of  reddish  hue,  the  first  in  the  breast-plate.  The  seventh, 
a  chrysalite,  of  a  golden  colour;  the  tenth  in  the  breast- 
plate. The  eighth,  a  beryl;  a  transparent  jewel  of  bluish 
green  ;  the  tenth  in  the  breast-plate.  The  ninth,  a  topaz; 
a  transparent  jewel,  third  in  value  to  the  diamond,  of  a 
yellow  gold  cast;  the  second  in  the  breast-plate.*  The 
tenth,  a  chrysoprasus,  of  green  hue,  mingled  with  yellow. 
The  eleventh,  a  jacinth,  of  a  violet  and  purple,  very  hard  and 
precious.  The  twelfth,  an  amethyst,  a  jewel  very  precious, 
of  violet  bordering  on  purple  ;  the  ninth  in  the  breast-plate. 
The  combination  of  these  gems  in  the  foundation  of  these 
walls  of  glory,  twelve  rows  of  them  one  above  the  other, 
and  of  sufiicient  width  to  appear  proportionate  in  those 
vast  walls,  must  have  given  the  most  overwhelming  view 
of  magnificence.  This  is  a  building  indeed,  not  made 
with  hands  eternal  in  the  heavens ! 

The  walls  of  this  city  have  12  gates  ;  three  on  each  of 
the  four  sides  ;  and  each  gate  of  solid  pearl,  a  hard  white 
and  most  precious  substance  ;  so  precious  that  it  is  said 
a  Persian  emperor  has  a  pearl  of  the  worth  of  440,000 
dollars.  The  true  pearl  is  very  rare  ;  but  it  is  much  coun- 
terfeited, and  false  pearl  is  abundant.  Most  fit  emblem 
is  the  true  pearl  of  the  gate  of  heaven,  the  real  grace  of 
God  in  the  soul  ! — and  how  great  the  multitude  who  think 
to  enter  heaven,  while  their  pearl  is  but  counterfeit  !  Such 
will  be  excluded.     God  and  the  Lamb  are  both  the  tem- 

book,  mean  not  the  diamond  (which  alone  answers  to  the  descrip- 
tion given  here  of  it) ;  then  the  diamond  is  not  in  this  book  known, 
although  use  is  made  of  12  precious  gems  ;  which  cannot  be  ad- 
mitted. The  gem,  repeatedly  taken  to  denote  the  glory  of  God, 
and  said  to  be  "  a  stone  most  precioos  (the  most  precious  stone,  as 
the  diamond  is),  and  clear  as  crystal  (which  the  jasper  is  not)  may 
with  moral  certainty  be  said  to  be  the  diamond,  which  otherwise  is 
not  found  among  the  12  gems  of  this  book. 

*  A  topaz  of  the  great  mogul  is  said  to  have  cost  more  than 
60,000  dollars. 


CHAPTER   XXL  389 

pie  and  the  light  of  this  heavenly  city.  Or  the  glory  of 
God  and  of  Christ  will  be  seen  and  enjoyed  without  the 
need  of  such  means  as  are  necessary  to  the  Christian  life  in 
this  world.  The  icings  and  nations  of  the  redeemed  bring 
their  glory  into  this  city  ;  or  they  find  here  all  their  glory, 
all  they  need,  or  wish.  Never  shall  night  be  known 
there ;  all  need  of  sleep,  all  weariness  will  eternally  flee. 
Every  soul  will  burn  with  pure  seraphic  flame  of  love, 
and  will  move  in  perfect  obedience,  activity,  and  perse- 
verance ;  while  nothing  can  be  there  which  defileth,  or 
maketh  a  lie,  and  none  but  those  whose  names  are  in  the 
book  of  life.  Nothing  will  ever  disturb  their  bliss,  or 
endanger  their  glories.  The  wicked  have  ceased  from 
troubling ;  and  the  weary  are  at  rest.  Every  wish  will 
be  accomplished,  and  t!ie  boundless  craving  of  every  soul 
filled  in  God.  Streams  of  his  heavenly  love  will  flow  into 
their  souls  as  from  an  eternal  inexhaustible  fountain. 
Their  union  and  fellowhip  with  angels  will  be  perfect  and 
most  delightful.  And  their  knowledge  and  fellowship 
with  all  the  holy  family  of  men,  will  be  perfect  and  most 
enrapturing.     Their  union  in  songs  of  praise, 

"  When  all  the  chosen  race, 
Shall  meet  around  the  throne, 
Shall  bless  the  conduct  of  his  grace, 
And  make  his  glories  known," 

will  constitute  a  heaven  indeed.  Their  songs  for  ever  will 
be  new,  and  rich ;  for  ever  will  their  holy  souls  flow  forth 
in  acts  of  purest  love  and  holy  praise.  "Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  who  was  slain  to  receive  power  and  riches,  and 
wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing. 
For  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy 
blood  out  of  every  nation,  aud  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests, 
and  we  shall  reign  with  thee  for  ever  and  ever!"  Length 
of  time  will  never  abate,  but  increase  their  glories.  Their 
powers  will  enlarge,  and  will  lead  them  to  perceive  new 
glories  and  wonders  in  God,  in  his  perfections  and  works, 
in  his  great  work  of  redemption,  and  all  his  plan  of  pro- 
vidence  to  fulfil  and  perfect  it. 

Christians,  prepare   for  that   blessed  world  of  glory. 
Have  this  world  under  your  feet,  and  let  your  hearts  and 
conversation  be  in  heaven.     Secure  that  bliss,  and  live  in 
K;k2 


390  LECTURE   XXXVI. 

preparation  for  it.  Pity  and  pray  for  the  many  who  prize 
it  not,  and  are  neglecting  the  great  salvation.  May  a 
foretaste  of  that  heavenly  inheritance  make  you  dead  to 
sin,  and  to  this  world  ;  and  ardently  desirous  of  being 
clothed  upon  with  your  house  from  heaven. 


LECTURE  XXXVI. 


REVELATION    XXII. 

Ver.  1.  And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  the 
water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb. 

The  description  of  the  heavenly  city  continues.  It  is  a 
great  beauty  and  excellency  of  a  city  to  have  a  beautiful 
river  rolling  through  the  midst  of  it.  This  was  the  boast 
and  bliss  of  ancient  Babylon.  This  was  one  of  the  glories 
of  the  primitive  Paradise.  It  was  the  finishing  glory  of 
the  mystical  city  of  God,  described  in  the  closing  part  of 
the  prophecy  of  Ezekieh — the  name  of  which  city  is, 
*'  The  Lord  is  there  .'" — that  it  had  a  river  issuing  from  its 
sanctuary,  which  soon  becomes  deep  and  large,  and  from 
the  city  lakes  its  direction  "toward  the  east  country, 
through  the  desert"  of  a  lost  world,  carrying  healing  and 
life  wherever  it  comes.  This  is  the  type  of  the  pure  river 
in  our  text.  In  Ezekiel,  it  blesses  the  earth  in  the  Mil- 
lennium ;  in  our  text,  it  blesses  heaven  in  eternal  glory. 
Relative  to  its  blessing  in  time,  the  Psalmist  says,  "There 
is  a  river,  the  streams  whereof  shall  make  glad  the  city 
of  God."  "  For  there  (says  the  prophet)  shall  the  glo- 
rious Lord  be  unto  us  a  place  of  broad  rivers  and  streams. 
The  symbolic  city  of  God  in  the  world  of  glory  does  by- 
no  means  lack  this  blessed  accommodation  and  beauty  of  a 
city.  We  find  here  the  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life, 
clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the 


CHAPTER    XXII.  391 

Lamb  !  Shall  we  say,  this  indicates  at  least  that  a  mighty 
stream  of  holy  love  is  ever  flowing  in  heaven  into  every 
soul,  after  the  well  of  water,  within  the  saints  in  this 
world,  shall  there  have  sprung  up  into  everlasting  life ! 
The  water  of  life,  obtained  by  the  people  of  God  here, 
will  there  become  pure,  clear  as  crystal.  Says  Paul, 
"  without  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing."  The  saints 
will  there  be  pure  as  God  is  pure ;  and  this  pure  life  will 
flow  from  God  alone.  As  Ezekiel's  river  issued  from 
under  the  threshold  of  God's  temple  ;  so  this  pure  river 
flows  from  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  God  and 
the  Lamb,  then,  have  one  throne  I  They  are  one ;  and 
salvation  in  glory  flows  from  this  one  God.  Shall  we 
say,  this  river  of  life  imbodies  the  holy  love  which  is 
founded  in  the  infinite  Three  in  One  ;  and  thence  flows 
forth  through  all  the  world  of  glory.  This  love,  undying 
and  untiring  love,  fills  every  soul,  and  nerves  the  countless 
throng  of  glory. 

Ver.  2.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on 
either  side  of  the  xiver^was  there  the  tree  of  life,  which 
bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  a7id  yielded  her  fruit 
every  month :  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees  were  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations. 

The  figure  assures  us,  this  pure,  this  crystal  river 
glides  smoothly  down  the  midst  of  the  broad  chief  street 
of  the  heavenly  city,  and  a  sufficient  part  of  the  street  is 
found  on  the  one  side  of  the  river,  and  on  the  other  ;  a 
street  coming  to  the  river,  on  each  side  of  it,  and  going 
thus  through  the  city  of  fifteen  hundred  miles.  At  that 
side  of  each  of  these  streets,  which  is  next  the  river  (and 
thus  on  each  side  of  the  river),  is  a  row  of  trees,  called 
here  the  tree  of  life.  In  these  two  rows  of  the  tree  of  life, 
are  found  twelve  different  kinds  of  delicious  fruit ;  either 
the  whole  of  which  twelve  kinds,  or  one  of  each  kind,  is 
produced  once  a  month  ;  and  thus  the  fruit  is  various,  yet 
continual.  And  the  leaves  of  this  tree  of  life  are  noted  as 
medicinal;  and  they  are  thus  either  a  full  remedy  against 
all  creature  weakness  which  might  otherwise  occur  ;  or  it 
is  spoken  after  the  limited  conceptions  of  man  in  his  feeble 
state  on  earth  ;  or  both.  There  will  be  no  sin  or  pain  in 
heaven.     But,  for  aught  we  know,  means  of  strength  and 


392  LlJCTURE    XXXVI. 

agility  may  there  be  furnished  and  delightfully  improved. 
So  the  text  seems  to  hint. 

As  to  the  tree  of  life ;  there  was  such  a  tree  in  the  an- 
cient paradise,which  seems  to  have  been  designed  a  sealing 
pledge  of  eternal  life  to  Adam,  had  he  continued  obedient 
till  the  close  of  his  season  of  probation.     This  is  implied 
in  what  is  said  of  that  tree,  and  particularly  in  the  reason 
given  for  setting  an  angel  with  his  flaming  sword,  to  keep 
the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,  "lest  Adam  should  put  forth  his 
hand,  and  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  live  for  ever  !"     It  is 
then,  a  sacred  seal  of  living  for  ever.     This  seems  to  be 
the  design  of  it  in  God's  holy  Paradise  above.     The  inhab- 
itants are  sealed  to  certain  eternal  life  by  these  long  and 
beautiful  rows  of  the  tree  of  life  on  the  sides  of  their  great 
street.     The  infallible  pledge  is  thus  abundant,  and  most 
common, — adorning  the  principal  street  of  the  heavenly 
city.     What  shall  we  say  of  its  "  twelve  manner  of  fruits?'* 
Do   they   allude  to  the  great  variety  of  the  subordinate 
sources  of  bliss,  in  the  world  of  glory  ?     God  and  the 
Lamb  will  be  the  great  and  never-failing  source  of  bliss. 
But  no  doubt  God  will  there  furnish  to  his  rational  family 
subordinate  sources  of  blessedness,  in  the  glories  of  the 
place,  the  variety  of  employments,  and  the  many  dis- 
plays of  his  unbounded  riches,  in  the   ages  of  eternity. 
Every  analogy  of  reasoning  assures  of  this.     The  rich 
and     most   magnificent  variety    of    the    descriptions    of 
this  city,  assures  of  the  fact.      And  the  twelve  manner 
of  fruits,  monthly  produced,  may,  and  probably  do,  allude 
to  it.     "  And  that  he  may  make  known  the  riches  of  his 
glory  on  the  vessels  of  mercy,  whom  he  had   afore  pre- 
pared unto  glory."     The  sources  of  divine  beneficence  in 
heaven  will  never  be  exhausted,  but  will  no  doubt  bear  at 
least  twelve  manner  of  fruits  every  month,  in  boundless 
duration.     Here  is  a  pledge  against  satiety,  or  becoming 
in  any  degree  cloyed.     Their  songs  will  be  ever  new. 

Ver.  3.  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse :  but 
the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it ; 
and  his  servants  shall  serve  him : 

4.  And  they  shall  see  his  face  ;  and  his  name  shall 
be  in  their  foreheads. 

5.  And  there  shall  he  no  night  there ;  and  they 
need  no  candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun :  for  the 


CHAPTER   XXII.  393 

Lord  God  giveth  them  light :  and  they  shall  reign 
for  ever  and  ever. 

Not  the  least  direct  effect  of  the  curse  on  fallen  man  shall 
there  remain  ;  while  the  far  greater  glories,  made  by  divine 
grace  to  result  from  the  curse,  will  be  eternally  seen,  felt, 
and  enjoyed.  The  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  (identified 
as  the  same)  will  be  ever  perfectly  in  view,  with  lustres 
and  glories  as  far  above  present  human  conception,  as 
heaven  is  above  the  earth.     And  all  the  inhabitants,  ser- 
vants of  the  Almighty,  will  serve  him  not  only  in  sinless, 
but  in  most  exalted  perfection.     "  And  his  servants  shall 
serve  him  /"  viz.  God  and  the  Lamb.  They,  then,  are  one. 
And  the  account  seems   to  indicate  that  the  man  Christ 
Jesus  will  appear  seated  on  that  throne,  ever  visible  in 
this  city ;  and,  as  "  the  fulness  of  ihe  Godhead  bodily 
dwells  in  him ;"   so  in  this  way  the  invisible  God  will  be 
seen,   and   worshipped  in  the  ages  of  heavenly  glory. 
"  They  shall  see  his  face,"  i.  e.  the  face  of  God  and  the 
Lamb.     They  will  literally  behold  the  face  of  Christ,  and 
will  know  and   feel  that  it  is   the  face  of  "  God  and  the 
Lamb."     His  name  being  in  their  foreheads  may  have  its 
fulfilment  in   a   countenance  (possessed  by  every  one)  ex- 
clusively heavenly !    A  countenance  beaming  with  their 
holy  fire  of  love,   and   their  ineff'able  glory  enjoyed !  a 
countenance  which  shall  thus  inform  whose  they  are  as 
effectually  as  if  God's  name  were  inscribed  in  large  ca- 
pitals upon   their  foreheads.      A  most  beatific   glow  of 
ineffable   light  from  God  himself  will  eternally  exclude 
all  need  of  artificial  lights,  and  of  any  thing  like  our  na- 
tural sun.     It  is  the  power  of  God  which  renders  artificial 
lights,  and  even   the   sun,  luminous  :  and  that  almighty 
power  can  as  easily  give  the  light  without  any  thing  like 
these  natural  means, — as  will   be  the  case  in   the  New 
Jerusalem.     "  God  is  light."     He  is  the  eternal  source  of 
light,  natural  as  well  as  moral.     He  can,  and  it  seems  he 
will  furnish  all  the  glorious  light  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
without  any  means,  but   from  his  own  immediate  power. 
There  shall  be  no  candle,  nor  sun  ;  but  "  the  Lord  God 
giveth  them  light."     "  And  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever."     This  seems  to  be  said  of  the  blessed  inhabitants. 
They  will  reign  in  a  full  government  of  their  own  spirits 
and  powers  in  holy  and  perfect  obedience  to  God.     And 


394  LECTURE    XXXVI. 

they  will  reign  in  a  perfect  fellowship  with  God  in  Christ, 
in  his  eternal  reign.  But  the  millions  of  ineffable  par- 
ticulars of  their  glories  thus  given  in  general,  must  remain 
hid  from  mortals  till  the  curtains  of  time  shall  be  drawn. 
"  We  know  not  what  we  shall  be;  but  we  know  that  when 
he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Am,  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is.  And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him, 
purifieth  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure." 

Ver.  6.  And  he  said  unto  me,  These  sayings  are 
faithful  and  true :  and  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy 
prophets  sent  his  angel  to  show  unto  his  servants  the 
things  which  must  shortly  be  done. 

The  infallible  veracity  of  this  Divine  Revelation  is  here 
confirmed  by  God  himself.  The  Lord  God  who  inspired 
all  the  prophets,  gave  this  revelation  by  the  mission  of  a 
special  messenger  from  heaven.  All,  then,  shall  be  ful- 
filled, and  that  "  shortly."  These  are  "  things  which 
must  shortly  be  done."  The  series  of  these  things  pre- 
dicted in  the  Revelation,  have  been  moving  on  the  swift 
wings  of  time  now  for  about  eighteen  hundred  years; 
and  the  whole  will  surely  be  accomplished.  At  the 
close  of  all  things  earthly, — their  time  and  their  dura- 
tion will  appear  in  the  light  of  eternity  as  nothing  !  But 
if  the  things  in  the  Revelation  are  true  and  faithful, — 
the  true  sayings  of  God,  revealed  to  his  servants  here 
below  ; — none  have  any  right  to  neglect,  to  disbelieve,  or 
to  undervalue  them.  They  have  all  the  divine  authority 
of  the  other  prophecies.  They  are  a  rich  concluding 
scene  of  our  holy  oracles.  And  those  people  give  but 
poor  evidence  of  being  the  servants  of  God,  who  neglect, 
slight,  or  undervalue  them !  Yet  what  multitudes  have 
done  it,  not  only  of  the  great  mass  of  the  impenitent  world, 
but  of  professors,  and  even  teachers !  Many  such  have  fe- 
licitated themselves  in  a  way  similar  to  the  following  : — I 
know  nothing  about  the  Revelation  !  I  never  pretend  to 
study  it !  There  are  other  parts  of  the  Bible  enough, 
plain  and  practical;  I  am  content  with  them,  with- 
out troubling  myself  to  attempt  to  learn  such  myste- 
ries! The  neglect  is  thus  assumed  as  a  high  piece  of 
wisdom  and  human  discretion  !  What  gross  impeach- 
ment of  the  divine  wisdom  and  benevolence  in  giving  the 


CHAPTER  xxn.  395 

Revelation  and  the  other  prophetic  parts  of  the  word  of 
God! 

Ver.  7.  Behold,  I  come  quickly:  blessed  is  he 
that  keepeth  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book. 

Jesus,  the  Lord  of  glory,  here  speaks  and  calls  the  at- 
tention of  man,    "  Behold  !"     What  follows   is   of  the 
deepest  interest.     "  I  come  quickly  !"     He  will   come  to 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness.     It  is  far  worse  than  in 
vain,  to  say,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming?"  Our 
God  shall  come,  and  shall  noi  keep  silence.     "  A  fire  de- 
voureth  before  him ;  and  it  shall  be  very  tempestuous 
round  about  him."     The  coming  of  this  event  is  said  to 
be  quickly.     Should  it  be  protracted  ever  so  many  thou- 
sands of  years, — those  thousands  of  years,  when  gone,  will 
appear  in  view  of  eternity,  short  indeed  !     This  warning 
of  Christ,  then,  should  be  impressed  on  our  hearts  every 
day  and  hour  of  our  lives  !  Looking  for,  and  hasting  unto 
the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — of  the  day   of 
God, — in  which  the  heavens   being  on  fire  shall  be  dis- 
solved, and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat;  and 
the  earth  and  all  the  works  therein,  shall  be  burned  up. 
Ye  Christians  ;  seeing  ye  look  for  such  things,  what  man- 
ner of  persons  ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and 
godliness?    especially    considering   that    our    individual 
death  is  essentially  all  one  to   us  as   the  coming  of  that 
great  and  last  day  ?    And  this  may  be  very  near,  and  can- 
not be  far  distant.     Death  is  to  each  saint,  the  return  of 
Christ  to  take  him  to  himself.     And  Christ  says   to  each 
one,  "  Be  ye  also  ready  ;  for  in  such  a  day  as  ye  think  not, 
the  Son  of  man  cometh."     Connected   with  this  warning 
in  the  text,  is  the  promised  blessing  to  him  "  that  keep- 
eth the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book."     What  may 
this  imply  to  those  who  keep  them  not,  and  know  them  not? 
Who  feel  a  disrespect  to  this  delightful  study  ?  The  Saviour 
commences  and  ends  this  book  with  this  same  sentiment. 
"  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the  words 
of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those  things  that  are  written 
therein  ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand."  Chap.  i.  3. 

Ver.  8.  And  I  John  saw  these  things,  and  heard 


396  LECTURE    XXXVI. 

them.  And  when  I  had  heard  and  seen,  I  fell  down 
to  worship  before  the  feet  of  the  angel  which  showed 
me  these  things. 

9.  Then  saith  he  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not: 
for  I  am  thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the 
prophets,  and  of  them  which  keep  the  sayings  of  this 
book :  worship  God. 

The  apostle  here  mistakes  the  angel  for  Christ,  and  his 
devout  soul  was  going  to  prostrate  itself  at  his  feet  in 
holy  worship.  But  the  angel  forbids.  It  is  impious  and 
false  to  say,  as  some  have  done,  that  this  was  not  true 
worship ;  nor  was  the  worship  paid  to  Christ  (in  the  nume- 
rous instances  recorded)  true  worship  ;  but  mere  compli- 
ment which  may  be  paid  to  a  creature !  John  here 
designed  it,  and  Inspiration  here  represents  it,  as  true  wor- 
ship :  and,  as  such,  it  is  here  forbidden,  and  directed  to 
be  paid  only  to  God.  This  thing  gives  a  new  decision  to 
the  proper  and  infinite  Divinity  of  Christ, — who  ever 
receives  worship  both  in  earth  and  heaven,  and  never 
forbids  it.  The  probabihty  that  this  angel  was  the  pro- 
phet Daniel,  has  been  noted  in  the  second  lecture.  "  I  am 
thy  fellow-servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets."  If 
this  messenger  be  one  of  the  prophets,  Daniel  seems  the 
most  likely  to  be  sent  on  this  message  to  illustrate  his  own 
ancient  prophecies,  as  the  Revelation  has  done. 

Ver.  10.  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Seal  not  the  say- 
ings of  the  prophecy  of  this  book  :  for  the  time  is  at 
hand. 

As  though  he  should  say  :  View  not  this  book  as  sealed 
up  ;  and  let  it  not  be  thus  viewed.  It  is  given  for  imme- 
diate and  faithful  practical  improvement.  For  its  events 
have  already  commenced;  they  will  swiftly  proceed; 
they  will  be  finished  ;  and  the  time  even  of  their  comple- 
tion may  now  be  said  to  be  at  hand.  No  time,  then,  is  to 
be  lost  as  to  understanding  and  improving  these  visions. 
Let  them  be  viewed  and  improved  as  given,  and  thrown 
open  for  this  very  purpose. 

Ver.  11.  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still : 


CHAPTER   XXII.  397 

and  he  which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still :  and  he 
that  is  righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still :  and  he 
that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still. 

When  this  heavenly  city  shall  come  (or  the  death  of  any 
individual  shall  arrive  which  is  the  same  thing  to  him), 
all  things  then  shall  settle  into  their  eternal  and  immutable 
state.  The  moral  character,  and  the  state  of  all  shall 
then  be  found  to  be  eternally  fixed.  None  shall  ever 
more  pass  from  one  kingdom  to  the  other.  There  shall 
be  no  more  transition  from  bad  to  good :  nor  from  good  to 
bad.  The  day  of  grace  to  the  wicked  is  ended.  And 
the  day  of  trial  to  the  good  shall  be  found  eternally 
closed.  "  The  things  that  are  unseen  are  eternal." 
"  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might : 
for  there  is  no  work,  divine  knowledge  or  wisdom,  in  the 
grave,  whither  thou  goest."  Or  there  is  no  probationary 
work  to  be  done  after  death. 

Ver.  12.  And  behold,  I  come  quickly  ;  and  my 
reward  is  with  me,  to  give  every  man  according  as 
his  work  shall  be. 

As  though  Christ  should  say,  I  again  give  the  warning, 
that  I  shall  soon  come  ;  and  I  shall  then  judge  all  men ; 
and  give  to  every  one  as  his  works  shall  decide  his  char- 
acter to  be.  I  shall  reward  no  Christian  for  his  works,  as 
a  legal  ground  of  reward.  For  heaven  is  a  gift  of  mere 
grace,  on  the  ground  only  of  what  I  have  sufi'ered  and  done. 
But  every  saint  shall  have  the  measure  of  his  reward  in 
exact  proportion  to  his  holy  obedience ;  and  the  enemy 
shall  be  punished  both  for  and  in  proportion  to  their 
crimes. 

Ver.  13.  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning 
and  the  end,  the  first  and  the  last. 

This  is  the  Judge,  and  is  Christ ;  who  reiterates  this 

most  positive  assurance  of  his  underived  eternal  Divinity. 

Striking  it  is,  that  this  annunciation  of  his  divinity  should 

be  annexed  to  the  declaration  of  his  soon  coming  to  judge, 

LI 


398  LECTURE   XXXVI. 

and  to  reward,  or  punish.     What  is  man,  that  he  should 
contradict  such  decisions  of  the  divinity  of  Christ ! 

Ver.  14.  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  command- 
ments, that  they  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life, 
and  may  enter  in  through  the  gates  into  the  city. 

While  holy  Christian  obedience  is  not  the  legal  ground 
for  entering  heaven,  it  is  essential  to  it,  being  the  consti- 
tuted title  of  the  saints  to  glory,  and  their  preparation  of 
soul  for  it.  The  commandments  of  God  in  the  text  are 
the  precepts  of  the  gospel, — repentance,  faith,  submission, 
reconciliation,  holy  obedience,  following  the  Lamb.  These 
are  the  commandments  of  Christ,  alluded  to,  when  he 
says,  "If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in 
my  love;  even  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's  command- 
ments, and  abide  in  his  love."  Such  shall  enter  the  gates 
of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  eternally  feed  on  the  rich  fruits 
of  the  tree  of  life. 

Ver.  1 5.  For  without  are  dogs,  and  sorcerers,  andj 
whoremongers,  and  murderers,  and  idolaters,  and 
whosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie. 

Behold  here  the  contrast  of  the  character  and  state  of 
the  wicked  !  How  destitute  of  honour,  as  well  as  of  bliss  ! 
Think  of  the  appellations  Christ  here  gives  them.  They 
are  without  the  city  of  God,  the  walls  of  heaven  !  They 
will  appear  plunged  in  the  burning  lake. 

Ver.  16.  I,  Jesus,  have  sent  mine  angel  to  testify 
unto  you  these  things  in  the  churches.  I  am  the  root 
and  the  offspring  of  David,  and  the  bright  and  morn- 
ing star. 

The  first  verse  of  this  book  assures  us,  that  it  is  the 
Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto  him, 
and  he  sent  and  signified  it  by  his  angel  to  his  servant 
John.  In  our  text,  drawing  to  the  close  of  the  book,  he 
reiterates  the  same  sentiment, — announcing  himself  at  the 
same  time,  both  David's  God,   and  David's  son !    The 


CHAPTER   XXII.  399 

true  star  that  was  to  arise, — the  bright  and  morning  star. 
Truly  his  rising  on  our  lost  and  dark  world  has  ushered 
in  the  gospel  day.  And  it  will  not  fail  to  usher  in,  in  due 
time,  the  sunrise  of  the  millennial  day,  and  the  eternal 
day  of  the  world  of  glory.  Glory  to  God,  the  Three,  for 
this  blessed  gift !  Thy  beams  shine  glorious  on  our  world 
beneath.  Let  all  on  earth  be  filled  whh  grateful  praise ! 
Wretched  millions,  whose  rebellious  hearts  shut  from 
their  sight  this  bright  and  morning  star ! 

Ver.  17.  And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come. 
And  let  him  that  heareth,  say.  Come.  And  let  him 
that  is  athirst,  come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him 
take  the  water  of  life  freely. 

So  kindly  and  powerfully  is  man  invited  to  partake  of 
all  this  grace  and  glory.  The  Spirit  of  God,  in  his  word, 
and  in  his  kind  whispers,  invites.  The  bride,  the  true 
people  of  God,  invite.  They  invite  by  their  conversion, 
their  holy  profession,  their  Christian  lives,  and  by  their 
verbal  entreaties.  All  who  hear,  all  who  thirst,  all  who 
will,  are  urged  to  come,  and  take  of  the  waters  of  life 
freely. 

Ver.  18.  For  I  testify  unto  every  man  that  heareth 
the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,  if  any  man 
shall  add  unto  these  things,  God  shall  add  unto  him 
the  plagues  that  are  written  in  this  book ; 

19.  And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the 
words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take 
away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the 
holy  city,  snadfrom  the  things  which  are  written  in 
this  book. 

Just  as  the  sacred  volume  is  closing,  this  awful  caution 
is  added  !  Among  the  last  rays  of  the  blessed  light  of 
our  sacred  oracles,  sparkling  from  the  heavenly  glory,  is 
this  admonition  given,  like  the  cherubim  and  the  flaming 
sword,  turning  every  way,  to  keep  this  our  precious  tree 
of  life  from  the  polluting  touch  of  unhallowed  innovators  ! 
"  Add  thou  not  to  his  word  ;  lest  he  reprove  thee ;  and 
thou  be  found  a  liar."     If  you  add,  diminish,  or  alter,  it 


400  LECTURE    XXXVI. 

shall  be  at  the  peril  of  your  souls, — of  your  eternal  salva- 
tion. Many  wretches  have  thus  shut  themselves  out  of 
heaven.  Many  more  probably  will  do  it.  Let  man  be- 
ware !  As  well  may  he,  blaspheming,  think  to  grasp  the 
thunderbolt,  and  tear  it  from  the  hand  of  Omnipotence,  as 
to  alter,  or  pervert  the  word  of  God,  and  prosper.  Let 
men  who  attempt  to  explain  away  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
men  who  dare  to  thrust  their  own  fond  peculiarities  into  the 
place  of  divine  decisions  ;  men  who  discourage  plain 
Christian  duty ;  all  innovators,  and  who  turn  aside  to 
crooked  ways, — at  this  divine  denunciation  tremble  and 
desist  from  their  presumptuous  madness !  Their  part 
being  taken  out  of  the  book  of  life,  is  spoken  after  the  man- 
ner of  man,  as  branches  in  Christ,  that  bear  not  fruit,  are 
taken  away ;  and  as  a  righteous  man,  turning  from  his 
righteousness,  and  committing  iniquity,  is  lost !  Such  a 
one  was  in  Christ  only  by  profession  and  privilege.  In 
the  same  sense  only  was  he  righteous.  And  in  the  same 
sense  only  is  his  name,  upon  his  perverting  the  sense 
of  the  Bible,  taken  from  the  book  of  life.  But  in  fact, 
he  only  proves  himself  a  hypocrite, — shows  that  he  was 
never  truly  in  Christ, — that  he  never  was  a  truly  righteous 
man ;  that  his  name  never  was,  in  reality,  in  the  book  of 
life  !    Such  language  is  well  known  in  the  word  of  God. 

Ver.  20.  He  which  testifieth  these  things,  saith, 
Surely  I  come  quickly ;  Amen.  Even  so,  come, 
Lord  Jesus. 

A  third  warning,  of  the  same  tenor  in  this  chapter,  is 
here  subjoined,  as  the  last  words  from  the  mouth  of  Christ, 
till  he  shall  come !  And  he  closes  with  the  confirmation 
of  Amen.  O  when  will  men  believe,  and  feel,  and  im- 
prove such  a  decision  1  Lord  Jesus,  make  this  thy  con- 
cluding sentence  like  fire,  and  like  a  hammer,  to  break 
and  to  melt  our  hearts  into  devout  attention,  and  holy  pre- 
paration for  thy  coming !  The  holy  heart  adds  in  filial 
ejaculation,  "  Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus !"  Here  are 
those  "  who  love  his  appearing."  Their  crown  of  right- 
eousness is  sure. 

Ver.  2L  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  you  all.    Amen. 


CHAPTER  xxn.  401 

Our  inspired  volume  thus  closes  in  a  holy  benediction, 
that  the  grace  of  Christ  may  rest  on  his  church  and  fol- 
lowers. 

Thus  close  the  Revelation,  and  the  sacred  oracles,  after 
furnishing  a  Pisgah's  top  to  behold  the  promised  land, — an 
exceedingly  high  mountain,  to  give  a  clear  sight  of  the  new 
Jerusalem.  Who  would  not  most  devoutly  and  grate- 
fully ascend  this  mount  of  God,  though  the  ascent  be  steep 
and  laborious  !  Let  us  see  that  we  possess  the  spirit  of 
that  world  of  glory  ;  then  we  shall  ere  long  be  there  in  the 
bosom  of  eternal  love,  where  all  are  kings  and  priests  to 
God  and  the  Lamb  for  ever.  0  fallen  man,  drop  the 
world  under  thy  feet,  and  seize  thine  inheritance  in  hea- 
ven. Seek  those  things  that  are  above,  where  Christ  is 
on  the  right  hand  of  God.  Learn  to  say,  with  Paul,  "  Our 
conversation  is  in  heaven."  Repent,  believe,  and  walk  in 
the  commands  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless. 
"  This  do,  and  thou  shalt  live."  Then  you  will  find  your 
mansion  in  the  new  Jerusalem,  when  earth  and  time 
shall  be  no  more  !  Sinners,  awake,  and  fly  to  Christ ;  or 
you  will  find  yourselves  eternally  shut  out  of  this  city  of 
God.  If  you  once  find  the  door  shut,  it  will  never  be 
opened,  and  none  will  be  able  to  deliver ! 


THE    END, 


L12 


VALUABLE    WORKS 

Published  by  J.  &  J.  HARPER,  82  Cliff-street, 

New- York. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  MODERN  EUROPE,  from  the 

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LIAM ROBEIITSON,  D.D.;  comprising  his  HISTORY  OF  AMERICA; 
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HOOPER'S  MEDICAL  DICTIONARY.     From  the 

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DATE  DUE                        ^ 

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